CINCINNATI — All Jake Browning ever wanted was a chance. In September 2021, he retreated to Seattle, his life at a crossroads, for the first time realistically considering that it may never come.
The former University of Washington star went undrafted in April 2019 before spending three offseasons with the Minnesota Vikings. Three times he was waived after the preseason.
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After the third such dismissal, no practice squad lifeline was tossed his way. He went home and contemplated what should come next.
No NFL teams were calling, so Browning picked up the phone himself.
He made two calls. One went to his former coach at Folsom High School, Troy Taylor, now the head coach at Stanford. Another went to his former offensive coordinator at UW, Jonathan Smith, now the head coach at Oregon State.
“I’m spending five days up in Seattle thinking I’m getting ready to get into coaching,” he said.
Perhaps, it seemed, the NFL had spit him out as it does so many other great college players with big dreams. He decided on Thursday of that week to drive 258 miles from Seattle to Corvallis, Ore., to get started.
“I was going to work for free,” Browning said. “Maybe they would pay my housing? It felt weird to sit around and wait for a tryout.”
Then, 48 hours before his departure to Oregon State, the Bengals called. A practice squad spot was open if he’d be interested in a tryout.
He instantly accepted.
He eventually landed as the Bengals’ practice squad QB. Nothing was promised, living in scout team obscurity for relative pennies behind Joe Burrow and backup Brandon Allen.
Fast forward through 810 days containing another preseason being waived after a QB competition he knew he couldn’t win, the latest reserve/futures contract, upsetting veteran Trevor Siemian in a backup quarterback competition and a season-ending wrist injury to Burrow.
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On Sunday at Paycor Stadium, Jake Browning will take over as the starting quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals. He’s finally been given his chance.
“It took four years and damn near a life sentence on the practice squad,” Browning said. “It took four years of doubling down on, ‘Hey, at some point I’ll get an opportunity.'”
Browning knew he wasn’t good enough in Minnesota. Well, he knew because the Vikings told him via transaction wire three times.
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With every September when he’d fail to make the 53, Browning would go back to the learning cycle, remembering advice former fourth-round pick Kirk Cousins gave him about always being prepared over the runway of a potential NFL lifespan.
“I kind of took that as every offseason really doubling down and investing,” Browning said. “Whether it’s money or time or whatever and becoming a better player and trying to get access to the best information, best offseasons so I can put myself in position to play well. So whether that opportunity is Monday or next year or whenever, I’m ready.”
For Browning, that meant a constant carousel of different training and perspectives from the time he came out of Washington, where he still holds the career record in passing yards with 12,296.
Jake Browning’s career at Washington was highlighted by being named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2016. (Joe Nicholson / USA Today)He worked with quarterback trainers to address issues with his throwing mechanics. It worked. He saw an increase in velocity and accuracy.
“I kind of had the realization that whenever I get access to new information, I’m not going to get worse,” he said. “I think a lot of guys train with the same people throughout their whole NFL career. And for me, it was kind of stepping outside that comfort zone and working with some different guys just to get some access to some different information.”
One year, he worked with Adam Dedeaux and Tom House at 3DQB in Huntington, Calif. — one of the premier training grounds.
He spent time working with Jordan Palmer, going out there in the summer with Burrow.
“Joe was out there with me,” Browning quipped with a laugh.
Life on the practice squad doesn’t always come with caretakers. The vast majority of developmental focus is directed to the starter and backup. Those scuffling on the fringes of the NFL orbit have to take development into their own hands if that aspect matters enough.
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“A lot of guys get to their third or fourth year on p-squad and it’s kind of easy to say, ‘I’m just getting screwed, I’m just going to wait until I get my opportunity,’ or you start to question yourself,” Browning said. “Like, I’ve always had a ton of confidence in myself and I’ve always had the thought that at some point I might get an opportunity. So I would just continue to make those investments in the time and really prioritize my development.”
Those inside the Bengals organization took notice. This mattered to Browning. He didn’t just say he wanted to be a quarterback, he proved through his own actions, motivations and, eventually, results.
Browning worked closely with Bengals defensive players on the thoughts of quarterbacks in situations and coverages and blew them away with his football knowledge and willingness to help.
He grew his relationship with Burrow, who he knew “could ask me anything,” inside the tight family of quarterback room evolving “high-level scheme conversations.”
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He served as a sounding board and friend for anybody in need through the ups and downs of the daily grind, cultivating relationships across the locker room in the process. He fully ingrained himself as part of the team’s success even though he wasn’t on the 53-man roster.
Still, the Bengals staff didn’t lie to Browning in 2022. He might provide value and be worthy of keeping around, but he was not in competition with Brandon Allen for the backup job. They told him it was Allen’s to lose.
“Those are the frustrating ones,” Browning said. “No matter how good I play, this other guy has to play bad?”
Browning played well in the preseason and made them think twice about the decision. He was waived but stuck around on the practice squad again. Offers were put on the table by other teams to join their 53-man roster in the final weeks of the 2022 season and Browning always let the Bengals know the situation and if they matched, he’d stay.
Jake Browning, middle, talks with Joe Burrow and Brandon Allen before a 2022 game in New Orleans. (Stephen Lew / USA Today)The Bengals always matched. They promoted him even though he was inactive to ensure the financial windfall of active game checks. They weren’t interested in giving up a player so invested in his own development.
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“That’s what we see in Jake, not what the public gets to see in Jake,” offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said. “When you see a guy like that every day and the work he puts in and how important it is to have an opportunity. He’s been dying for a chance to prove he’s capable of playing NFL quarterback. I’ll let my money ride with guys like that. Those guys tend to find ways to not fail.”
Turns out, he didn’t. When told he’d have a 50-50 shot against veteran Trevor Siemian in the preseason, he left little doubt. It wasn’t always pretty. In fact, for stretches of camp, it was downright ugly for all involved.
But Browning improved, ascended and not only won the backup job but the trust of coaches and players alike.
“Guy can really sling it,” Tee Higgins said. “He’s a baller.”
The question was posed to Browning on Friday about how much this ruined his mini-bye weekend as he prepares for his first career start.
“Still a bye weekend,” he said, laughing. “We’re not going to beat the Steelers Saturday or Sunday. Hang out, relax. Get refreshed. Come in Monday ready to roll.”
For outsiders learning Browning’s name Thursday night on Amazon Prime, there might be a vision of him cramming for the test or feeling the pressure of taking over a team now looking to him to lead a playoff push.
Those who’ve gotten to know Browning over the last two and a half years in Cincinnati know better.
“I’ve been operating as if I’m getting ready to go start a football game,” he said. “Because I know at some point, whether that opportunity came now or later or never, I’d be really pissed off at myself if I wasn’t prepared when I got thrown in. I’ve been preparing like I’m gonna be the guy for two and a half years now in the same offense. So I’ve got my routine down.”
On Thursday, when he completed 8 of 14 passes for 68 yards, ran four times for 40 yards and threw his first career touchdown pass on a timing route to Ja’Marr Chase at the pylon, he merely confirmed the belief in his mentality.
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“What I thought was so special about him was how confident and calm he was,” head coach Zac Taylor said. “That allowed me to call everything that was on the menu and not have to dumb it down because the new guy’s coming in the game.”
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In reality, no backup quarterback in the league had more reps with the first team than Browning in training camp thanks to Burrow’s calf injury. He developed the timing for throws like the touchdown to Chase or the dart ripped over the middle to Trenton Irwin that was eventually overturned.
“Jake played really well (Thursday) when he got his chance,” Burrow said. “That was off of no practice. So he’s going to continue to get better and better. I’m excited to watch him, too. We’re very similar people and that’s why I’m such good friends with him. He’s very even-keeled. No moment is too big for him.”
Browning shrugged when asked about the narrative the team will fall apart with him at the helm. He laughed at the idea that he’s feeling extra weight thrust into this situation. He passed on offering a message to fans unsure how to feel about him.
He did so like a seasoned veteran. That’s because in terms of blocking out what’s being said about him, he might be the most seasoned on the roster.
Heck, the Bengals showed him more faith than any team in the NFL.
“And they cut me twice,” Browning said, laughing again. Technically, he was only waived once, but, in fairness, it’s tough to keep track.
He rightfully and understandably has doubters across the NFL-viewing world. And Browning might not be any good. There’s a world where he struggles and new backup AJ McCarron takes the helm down the line.
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Arguments were made in August the Bengals should have targeted a more recognizable, veteran backup instead of sticking with Browning as Burrow dealt with the calf. But all that they knew about Browning in the building drew them to stay with him in case this situation arose.
“We’ve invested in him,” Callahan said. “And he’s, in turn, invested back into himself. We are going to find out if Jake is good enough. That’s where we are at. If he’s not, then he’s not. But I trust Jake. I trust that way he goes about his business. Zac trusts him. The players trust him. They see him work every day, too. That’s all part of the equation.”
That all leads back to this moment. For Browning, it could help secure a long career as a backup — or better — in this league. He could end up the next Chase Daniel. Or the next Brock Purdy. Or, maybe, the next quality control analyst at Oregon State.
Everyone will find out the answer to that question together.
But one thing is certain about Browning, nobody can contend he wasn’t prepared for the moment.
“My career was over by now if I didn’t adjust,” he said. “You get told so many times, ‘Hey, you’re not good enough to be on the 53.’ You can start second-guessing yourself, getting pissed off that you’re not getting opportunities or you’re getting screwed, or you can say, ‘OK, what do I need to get better at to change this result?’ And so I kind of went with the latter.”
All he ever wanted was a chance.
(Top photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
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