Browning signed a two-year contract with the Bengals on Tuesday.

EDGE Analysis

Undrafted back in 2019, the QB spent two years on Minnesota's practice squad and then two seasons on Cincinnati's. Browning finally got his shot in 2023, winning the No. 2 QB job for the Bengals and eventually replacing an injured Joe Burrow (wrist) for the final seven and a half games of the season. Browning played surprisingly well down the stretch, with 15 total TDs (three rushing) and seven turnovers (all INTs) while leading all qualified passers in completion percentage (70.4) and ranking fifth in yards per attempt (8.0). The 28-year-old's status as an exclusive-rights free agent this offseason essentially locked him into staying with the Bengals, and the two-year deal now sets him up to be a restricted free agent after 2025. His solid performance in 2023, combined with 2-3 more years of team control, could make Browning a trade target for QB-needy teams, though there haven't been rumblings of interest this spring.

The Bengals tendered exclusive rights free agent Browning on Wednesday.

EDGE Analysis

Undrafted out of Washington in 2019, Browning made the first nine appearances of his NFL career last season, starting seven games following Joe Burrow's season-ending injury. Browning had the Bengals in playoff contention right up until the end of the season, finishing the year with a league-best 70.4 percent completion rate for 1,936 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions, adding 27-127-3 as a rusher. He's the favorite to open 2024 as Burrow's top backup.

Browning completed 18 of 24 passes for 156 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in Sunday's 31-14 win over the Browns. He added 18 yards on two rushing attempts.

EDGE Analysis

Browning was picked off on Cincinnati's first possession but led touchdown drives on the next three. That stretch included a six-yard touchdown pass to Joe Mixon and a three-yard touchdown pass to Andrei Iosivas, as well as a Mixon rushing touchdown. Browning added a seven-yard touchdown pass to Iosivas in the third quarter. After Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury in Week 11, Browning threw for 1,936 yards with a 12:7 TD:INT and three rushing touchdowns in seven starts and one relief appearance. Browning's strong finish is likely to earn the 27-year-old quarterback at least a backup role next season, be it in Cincinnati or elsewhere.

Browning completed 19 of 33 passes for 197 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions in Sunday's 25-17 loss to the Chiefs. He added seven rushes for 32 yards and an additional score.

EDGE Analysis

Browning got the Bengals' offense off to a hot start, as the team recorded 17 points through their first three possessions. In that span, he threw a seven-yard touchdown to Joe Mixon and also bowled through several defenders on a one-yard rush into the end zone. However, the team failed to score again and Browning's stat line suffered. He's played admirably in relief of Joe Burrow (wrist) since Week 11, though he could be in a tough spot in a Week 18 matchup against the Browns with both Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins currently playing at less than 100 percent.

Browning completed 28 of 42 passes for 335 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions in Saturday's 34-11 loss to the Steelers. He also threw a two-point conversion and rushed once for no gain.

EDGE Analysis

Browning had a few key errors that contributed to Cincinnati's 24-0 halftime deficit. He threw a ball up for grabs for an interception in Pittsburgh's end zone in the first quarter, then tossed another interception in the second quarter before adding an incompletion on fourth-and-1 from Pittsburgh's five-yard line just before the two-minute warning in the first half. Browning connected with Tee Higgins for an 80-yard touchdown on his first pass of the second half and followed it up with a two-point conversion to Joe Mixon, but he proceeded to throw another interception and another incomplete pass on fourth down as the Bengals failed to cut further into the deficit. Despite his numerous turnovers, Browning exceeded 300 passing yards for the third time in the last four games. He'll look to bounce back in Week 17 against the Chiefs.

Browning completed 29 of 42 pass attempts for 324 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the 27-24 overtime win against the Vikings on Saturday.

EDGE Analysis

Browning mostly struggled in the first half, though he narrowly missed two big throws -- one to Charlie Jones and one to Tee Higgins -- and he would have had a much bigger game if either of those targets had landed. Browning would go on to hit Higgins for two touchdown strikes in the second half, which is an encouraging sign given that Browning had otherwise shown hints of growing dependent on YAC yardage from his running backs and tight ends. The problem is that Ja'Marr Chase left the game with a shoulder injury, and it's not clear if he'll be available as Browning and the Bengals head to Pittsburgh in Week 16.

Browning completed 18 of 24 passes for 275 yards with two touchdowns and one interception and added three rushes for seven yards and another score in the Bengals' 34-14 win over the Colts on Sunday.

EDGE Analysis

Browning went a long way toward proving his breakout Monday night Week 13 performance against the Jaguars was no fluke, displaying outstanding efficiency while averaging an impressive 11.5 yards per attempt. Rookie running back Chase Brown lent Browning a big early hand by taking a short pass 54 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, and the fourth-year signal-caller connected with Tanner Hudson for an 11-yard scoring strike in the third quarter, a play Browning followed up with a one-yard touchdown run later in the period. Browning did exit the game early in the fourth quarter with muscle cramping for what amounted to five scrimmage plays, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, but he was able to return to finish the game without issue. With two stellar performances now under his belt, Browning next sets his sights on the Vikings in a Week 15 home matchup.

Browning completed 32 of 37 passes for 354 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in the Bengals' 34-31 overtime win over the Jaguars on Monday night. He also rushed twice for 22 yards and another score and brought in his only target for minus-7 yards.

EDGE Analysis

Browning was near perfect in a performance no one could have seen coming, with the fourth-year pro averaging 9.6 yards per attempt and connecting with eight different targets on the night. Browning's one touchdown toss, a 76-yard pass to Ja'Marr Chase down the left sideline early in the third quarter, broke a 14-14 tie at the time, and the emerging signal-caller added a one-yard rushing touchdown early in the final period before eventually calmly leading a game-winning 12-play drive in overtime. Browning has completed a jaw-dropping 81.0 percent of his passes over his first two starts while compiling three total touchdowns and only one interception in those contests, affording him an avalanche of momentum heading into Week 14 home matchup against the Colts.

Browning completed 19 of 26 passes for 227 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Sunday's 16-10 loss to the Steelers. He added three rushes for nine yards.

EDGE Analysis

Browning drew his first career start due to the absence of Joe Burrow (wrist) and kept the Bengals in the game for a tough divisional matchup. His lone touchdown came early in the second quarter on an 11-yard pass to Drew Sample. While Browning certainly won't move the Cincinnati offense in a comparable way to Burrow, he did show enough competence that Cincinnati should remain competitive, which is good news for the likes of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins (hamstring).

Browning will be Cincinnati's starting quarterback moving forward, as Joe Burrow (wrist) is in line to miss the rest of the season, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Burrow went for an MRI on Friday after leaving Thursday's 34-20 loss to the Ravens in the first half. The MRI revealed a torn ligament in the star quarterback's right wrist. Browning came into Thursday's game with just one career pass attempt in the NFL, and he went on to complete eight of 14 passes for 68 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions while rushing four times for 40 yards after replacing the injured Burrow. The 27-year-old Browning is expected to make his first NFL start Week 12 against the Steelers.