At one point in the offseason, Jake Browning seemed in line to be the Vikings’ backup quarterback.
Things didn’t work out, though. Browning struggled in the preseason, and Minnesota elected to keep only Kirk Cousins and Kellen Mond on the active roster.
Now, the Vikings’ Week 1 opponent has decided to nab Browning. The Bengals signed the free agent quarterback to the practice squad on Tuesday.
This is a pretty common move in the modern NFL. The Vikings signed former Buccaneers OL Zack Bailey leading up to the game against Tampa Bay this past season, for instance. Minnesota also did something similar by signing former Titans linebacker Cale Garrett, before playing Tennessee that week.
The move to get Browning could be concerning. He’s well aware of Minnesota’s offensive scheme, having served on the practice squad the past two seasons.
For the Bengals, this could also be a move just to simply shore up depth at quarterback. Cincinnati just has Joe Burrow and Brandon Allen on the active roster, and Browning was at least getting a lot of reps with the Vikings during training camp and the preseason.