Jake Browning reveals the Bengals already had something he very much values before he stepped in for Joe Burrow once again
Browning’s got a friend next to him.
Jake Browning’s main value for the Cincinnati Bengals goes beyond playing when Joe Burrow gets injured. When Burrow is healthy and starting, Browning is the extra pair of eyes and voice for Burrow to use on the sidelines between drives, helping him build off quality possessions and overcome mistakes.
Burrow can’t be that for Browning now that he’s away from the team and about to have surgery for his turf toe, so Browning will lean on someone he’s known for nearly half of his life: his new backup, Brett Rypien.
“I got Brett Rypien, who I’ve known since we were, like 17 years old. I think even 16 actually — went to a Boise State camp in like 2013 together,” Browning told reporters Wednesday. “Met there, and he’s been around. We did draft prep together, and so now he’s a backup, and has spent some time in Minnesota last year, been around to about, seen a lot of different quarterbacks, and super smart. So very fortunate to have him.”
Jake Browning already had a friend in the quarterback room he now leads
Cincinnati signed Rypien to the practice squad right after he was cut by the Minnesota Vikings; the same exact situation that happened to Browning four years earlier. While Burrow was hoping to command a second-consecutive healthy season for the first time since 2022, Browning was reconnecting with Rypien as his two backups.
That connection will now be put to use for Browning as he steps in as QB1, with Rypien dressed and next to him when the defense takes the field.
“You know, it’s just a calm presence on the sideline,” Browning said of Rypien. “I even felt that on Sunday. And so, yeah, I think it’s taken for granted quarterbacks that have been around for a long time in a lot of different systems and just seen a lot of different football. So I think he provides a lot of value there.”
Browning didn’t expect last Sunday to go the way it did with him playing most of the game, but the Bengals were more prepared than most would’ve thought. Rypien was already there on the sideline to help Browning go through the changes, and now that he’s been signed off the practice squad to be his official backup, that’s not stopping anytime soon.
Cincinnati added two quarterbacks, Sean Clifford and Mike White, to replace Rypien on the practice squad this week. They’ll be in street clothes on Sundays while Browning and Rypien work through film and conversations together in their new dynamic.
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