{"id":247659,"date":"2025-09-22T10:00:30","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T14:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=247659"},"modified":"2025-09-25T10:25:31","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T14:25:31","slug":"cincinnati-bengals-quarterback-trade-targets-ranked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/09\/22\/cincinnati-bengals-quarterback-trade-targets-ranked\/","title":{"rendered":"Cincinnati Bengals Quarterback Trade Targets, Ranked"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first game of the Jake Browning Era<\/a> did not go well, and the Cincinnati Bengals may have no choice but to trade for a quarterback if things do not improve. While Browning was far from the team’s biggest issue, his 140-yard, one-touchdown, and two-interception performance left a lot to be desired. One bad game won’t make the Bengals completely re-evaluate their decision to move forward with Browning, but another start or two like this could force them to make a move.<\/p>\n

Bengals Quarterback Trade Targets, Ranked<\/h2>\n

At 2-1, the Cincinnati Bengals still control their own destiny when it comes to the playoffs. However, that won’t remain the case if Browning does not improve. While this team has great weapons in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, their offensive line and defense are active liabilities. An undrafted free agent may not be capable of overcoming this supporting cast, but the following veterans could keep this ship afloat while Joe Burrow works his way back to the field.<\/p>\n

\"Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning (6) walks the sideline in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 3 game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Cincinnati Bengals at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. The Vikings won, 48-10.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Main Photo: Sam Greene – Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"falcons
Main Photo: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3. Kirk Cousins<\/h3>\n

At his best, Kirk Cousins was a borderline top-10 quarterback who wouldn’t elevate bad teams to contention, but could guide a good team to the playoffs. Nobody knows if that version of Cousins is still around, as the quarterback looked like a shell of himself last year before ceding the starting job to rookie Michael Penix<\/a>. Now a full year removed from his season-ending Achilles injury, it stands to reason the veteran may improve now that he’s completely healthy.<\/p>\n

While Cousins has a decent amount of upside, the Bengals probably won’t trade for a quarterback with his contract. Cousins is in the second year of a four-year, $180 million deal that is already one of the worst in football. Unless the Falcons are willing to eat most of the money on his contract, Cousins isn’t going anywhere.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Andy
Dec 8, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton (14) and quarterback Bryce Young (9) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2. Andy Dalton<\/h3>\n

Why not? Andy Dalton has bounced around the league in recent years, but he’s still best known for his time with the Cincinnati Bengals. The former quarterback equivalent to the Mendoza line<\/a>, Dalton has spent his later years as a high-end backup capable of filling in when injury or ineffectiveness strikes the quarterback position.<\/p>\n

Frankly, the Bengals need him more than the Carolina Panthers do. For better or worse, the franchise lives and dies with Bryce Young<\/a>. Dalton isn’t good enough to guide that flawed roster to the postseason, so they must spend the year finding out what they have in Young. While Bengals fans may not be thrilled at the idea of seeing Dalton return, he’s better than Browning and could recreate the A.J. Green magic with Ja’Marr Chase.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Jameis
Sep 14, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston (19) warms up before the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1. Jameis Winston<\/h3>\n

If nothing else, this would be entertaining. Jameis Winston is not a franchise quarterback, but nobody else comes close to offering the high-upside volatility as the former first-overall pick. Winston is not afraid to sling it and let his receivers make plays down the field, and his wild style of play is perfect for Chase and Higgins.<\/p>\n

Currently buried on the New York Giants depth chart, the Cincinnati Bengals should have Winston atop their wish list if they try to trade for a quarterback. While his bad games are terrible, Winston also has the potential to throw for 400 yards and four touchdowns on any given Sunday. With the defense as bad as it is, Cincinnati needs someone like that to stay alive while Burrow recovers from his injury.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Cincinnati Bengals could trade for a new quarterback after Jake Browning struggled in his first start of the season<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":247664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,27,30,7,20,6431],"tags":[854,7725,9314,116,403],"class_list":["post-247659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-falcons","category-panthers","category-bengals","category-giants","category-nfl-teams","tag-andy-dalton","tag-cincinnati-bengals-news","tag-jake-browning","tag-jameis-winston","tag-kirk-cousins"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247659"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247680,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247659\/revisions\/247680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}