Bengals backup quarterback competition remains wide open entering heart of preseason
All's the same on the quarterback front for the Cincinnati Bengals. Joe Burrow is still working back from a calf strain, and the job to back him up is still up for grabs.Head coach Zac Taylor said as much Monday afternoon, telling reporters that Trevor Siemian will get his turn to start Friday evening against […]
All's the same on the quarterback front for the Cincinnati Bengals. Joe Burrow is still working back from a calf strain, and the job to back him up is still up for grabs.
Head coach Zac Taylor said as much Monday afternoon, telling reporters that Trevor Siemian will get his turn to start Friday evening against the Atlanta Falcons in preseason game No. 2, with Jake Browning coming in later.
"Yeah, we'll keep rotating. The plan today would be for Trevor to get the first half of the game, Jake to get the second half," Taylor said. "We've always planned on flipping those guys over the first two games and those guys have done a really good job. I thought yesterday both of them had a really good practice, so that was good to see. And so we'll continue to work those guys in, and they'll both get their opportunities with the ones over the course the week."
The middle of August is when roster developments start to become noticeable. A good example is how Jackson Carman is now taking snaps at left tackle with the second team instead of at right tackle with the starters.
Cincinnati's duo of Siemian and Browning appear to still be neck and neck for what will likely be one roster spot to backup Burrow. They were evenly underwhelming in last week's preseason opener, each finishing with a passer rating of exactly 49.9. There are better stats to measure quarterback play, but that figure matches their performances very nicely.
If all else is equal, Siemian might have the best case to win the job, or simply not lose it. He's the more experienced passer of the two, and has shown he can push the ball downfield when needed to. His mobility is also a plus, but that's about equal to the younger Browning.
Three preseason games in total means that one of them is going to start one more game. If neither QB makes a push over the next week, Browning would likely get the start for the preseason finale against the Washington Commanders.
The ball's in Siemian's court to make a statement on Friday.
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Featured image via © Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
