Most fans are still reeling from the injury to Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow in training camp. The current expectation is that the injury is minor enough to not affect his status for week one of the NFL regular season. However, that does not diminish the task faced by the team throughout the rest of training camp and preseason: determining which player(s) will serve as a backup to the star in 2023. Brandon Allen, who backed up Burrow in each of the last three seasons, left in free agency to join the San Francisco 49ers. Fortunately, the Bengals have options at backup quarterback.
Options at Backup Quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals
Trevor Siemian
Journeyman Trevor Siemian signed a 1 year, $1.3 million deal with the team on May 3rd after being waived by the Chicago Bears. The quarterback has spent time with six teams in his career since being picked by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He started 24 games for the Broncos across two seasons before settling into his current role as a journeyman backup.
Compared to his competition, Siemian brings experience to the table. He is the only quarterback currently on the roster (sans Burrow) to have played in the regular season. In his eight seasons, he has seen game action in all but two of them. Players like him don’t last as long as he has without bringing something to the quarterback room. Burrow could benefit from having the experienced veteran around as he moves into his fourth season in the league. Siemian seems to be the most likely candidate for the team’s primary backup spot.
Jake Browning
Second-year man Jake Browning was a preseason darling and fan favorite in 2022. He saw action in all three games and had an especially good outing against the Los Angeles Rams in the preseason finale. This solidified his spot on the practice squad, a place he is quite familiar with. Browning initially was signed to the Minnesota Vikings practice squad as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He stuck with them until 2021 when the Bengals signed him to their own practice squad. He is yet to make a final roster, much less play in the regular season.
Browning has familiarity with the team and offense from the last two years. That may give him an edge to make the team, but it seems unlikely the team will want the first option off of the bench to be a player who has not started, or even seen action, in a regular season game.
Reid Sinnett
Unproven Reid Sinnett is the newest Bengal, having signed with the team two days after Burrow’s injury. He beat out another Bengals fan favorite, Drew Plitt, to earn the position. Along with Plitt, Sinnett featured this spring in the third iteration of the XFL. He played for the San Antonio Brahmas, starting the season as the backup to Jack Coan. He got the start in week five in relief of Coan, throwing for 97 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Unfortunately, he also broke his foot in this game which sidelined him for the rest of the season.
His addition is seen mainly as a camp body to fill in while Burrow is absent from practice. Of the three players, he has the longest shot to make the roster but still has a chance to impress. His most likely destination is the practice squad, however. He previously spent time on the practice squad with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Miami Dolphins before finding his way to the XFL.
Each of these players brings something different to the table. Normally the Bengals only carry two quarterbacks on the roster, but the NFL updated the rules this offseason to allow teams to carry a third quarterback on gameday rosters without counting against roster limits. This could mean two spots are up for grabs rather than one, or perhaps two of the quarterbacks end up on the practice squad instead of the typical one. The team’s evaluation of all three players will remain a storyline to follow all camp and preseason.
Main Photo: Sam Greene/USA TODAY NETWORK
