A smart move based on how capable Browning looked last season.
The Cincinnati Bengals have re-signed backup quarterback Jake Browning to an exclusive-rights deal through the 2025 season. The team has also signed unrestricted free agent QB Logan Woodside to a one-year contract for the 2024 season.
Browning came in after starting quarterback Joe Burrow was lost for the season with a wrist injury. He kept the Bengals in playoff contention up to the very end and showed flashes of what he could do if he were to be given the reigns permanently. He finished the season completing 171/243 passes (70.4 percent), 1,936 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
An exclusive rights free agent (ERFA) is any player with fewer than three accrued seasons and an expired contract. Browning’s contract was set to expire, making him an ERFA after the 2024 season, but now he’ll be Burrow’s backup for at least two more seasons.
While Browning showed he has what it takes to compete for a starting job on a lot of teams, he unfortunately (for him, not us) plays on the same team as a top-three quarterback in the league. However, considering Burrow has struggled to stay healthy, having Browning backing him up over the next two seasons is a plus.
As for Woodside, a fifth-year player out of Toledo, he was originally a seventh-round pick of the Bengals in 2018. He has played in 13 career games for the Tennessee Titans (2020-21) and Atlanta Falcons (’22-23), completing 4/7 passes for 34 yards.
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