{"id":249031,"date":"2025-09-30T10:00:48","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T14:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=249031"},"modified":"2025-09-30T08:10:52","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T12:10:52","slug":"4-quarterback-trades-that-could-save-the-bengals-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/09\/30\/4-quarterback-trades-that-could-save-the-bengals-season\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Quarterback Trades That Could Save the Bengals Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cincinnati Bengals desperately need to trade for a quarterback if they want to save their season. After starting 2-0 with Joe Burrow, the offense has collapsed with former undrafted free agent Jake Browning<\/a> filling in for the injured superstar. During his two starts, the third-year pro has completed just 54 of his 84 attempts for 506 yards, three touchdowns, and five interceptions. Cincinnati is 0-2 with Browning<\/a> under center and must do something to salvage their season.<\/p>\n

4 Quarterback Trades the Bengals Should Consider<\/h2>\n

Fortunately, the season isn’t over yet. While the last two weeks were ugly, the team is still 2-2 and has decent odds at the playoffs – if they can fix their passing attack. While nobody of Joe Burrow’s caliber is available, the following four quarterback trade targets will probably be better than Browning and could keep the Bengals afloat while the team waits for Joe Burrow to get healthy.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Russell Wilson\/Jameis Winston, New York Giants<\/h3>\n

The Jaxson Dart Era<\/a> is in full swing in New York, which means the Giants don’t need to keep both of their veteran quarterbacks. Wilson had poor outings in two of his three starts but looked like his old self in Week 2’s shootout against the Dallas Cowboys. Narrowly losing in overtime, Wilson completed 30 of his 41 attempts for 450 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Nobody should expect that production on a weekly basis, but he should find some success with an elite receiver duo in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, the team could embrace the high-risk, high-reward quarterbacking of Jameis Winston. Winston has never shied away from pushing the ball downfield, and pairing him with Chase and Higgins could create some fireworks.<\/p>\n

\"giants
Main Photo: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

2. Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons<\/h3>\n

At his best, Kirk Cousins was a borderline top-10 quarterback who could have thrived in this offensive environment. Those days are likely gone, as Cousins looked like a shell of himself with the Atlanta Falcons last year and lost his starting job midway through his first season with the club. Even if he is a shell of his former self, he’s still probably better than Jake Browning.<\/p>\n

The hardest part to figure out is the money. Cousins is on a massive contract<\/a>, and Atlanta will need to eat a sizable portion of the guaranteed figure to ship him out of town. Cousins is a fine backup, and the Bengals only need someone to hold down starting duties for the next two to three months. Frankly, there are better and less cost-prohibitive short-term options available.<\/p>\n

\"kirk
Jan 5, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) talks to Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen (19) and quarterback Andy Dalton (14) after the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

3. Andy Dalton, Carolina Panthers<\/h3>\n

After years apart, it may be time for the Red Rifle to make his triumphant return to Cincinnati. While Dalton never played at a level close to Joe Burrow, the former second-round pick was an adequate starter and is one of the league’s best backup quarterbacks.<\/p>\n

At 1-4, the Carolina Panthers’ season is effectively over and the rest of the year will revolve around turning Bryce Young into a franchise quarterback<\/a>. Frankly, a team like this doesn’t need Andy Dalton holding a clipboard, so they should be willing to trade the quarterback to the Cincinnati Bengals. Dalton made magic with A.J. Green back in the day and should be able to recapture a portion of that success with Chase and Higgins.<\/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

<\/p>\n

4. Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints<\/h3>\n

The New Orleans Saints may have accidentally found something in fifth-round pick Spencer Rattler<\/a>. While the second-year quarterback isn’t good enough to win games with a terrible roster, he’s shown signs of life through his first 10 starts. Maybe he’s not a franchise quarterback, but he’s a fine short-term starter and should be a cheap, cost-controlled backup for years to come.<\/p>\n

This leaves second-round pick Tyler Shough with no real spot on the roster. Rattler beat him out this year, and the Saints will almost certainly use their inevitable top-five pick on a quarterback. New Orleans should cut their losses and trade their rookie quarterback to the Bengals. In a best-case scenario, Shough will play up to his draft capital, help the team win games in 2025, and be Burrow’s backup for the next few seasons.<\/p>\n

\"Tyler
Aug 23, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) passes against the Denver Broncos during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Cincinnati Bengals need to trade for a quarterback after Jake Browning’s latest underwhelming performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":247664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_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":[36,27,30,7,28,20,6431],"tags":[854,9314,116,403,7661,237,7659,9819],"class_list":["post-249031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-falcons","category-panthers","category-bengals","category-saints","category-giants","category-nfl-teams","tag-andy-dalton","tag-jake-browning","tag-jameis-winston","tag-kirk-cousins","tag-panthers-featured","tag-russell-wilson","tag-saints-featured","tag-tyler-shough"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249031","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=249031"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":249040,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249031\/revisions\/249040"}],"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=249031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}