Bengals sign Jake Browning to practice squad and cut Drue Chrisman

The Bengals find their third QB.

The Cincinnati Bengals have signed QB Jake Browning to the practice squad and released punter Drue Chrisman from it, the team announced Tuesday.

Browning, weighing in at 6-foot-2 and 209 pounds, is a first-year player by way of the Washington Huskies. He was originally a college free agent signee of the Minnesota Vikings in 2019, the team Cincinnati plays this week. He spent the last two seasons (2019-20) on the Vikings’ practice squad and was waived on Sept. 1st this year.

Chrisman, a rookie, was a college free agent signee of the Bengals in May by way of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Even with practice squads being expanded to 16 players, it’s not often that a team keeps a backup punter, so it’s no real surprise to see him let go to make room for Browning.

Because of the threat of COVID-19 compromising entire position groups, many NFL teams now keep an emergency QB on the practice squad who actually stays isolated from the team’s other QBs. That’s what the Bengals did last year with Brandon Allen. He was initially signed to the practice squad, then only had virtual meetings with the other QBs and coaches before he was signed to the active roster when Joe Burrow went down.

Look for a similar situation to play out with Browning.

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