The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have struggled to find competent backup quarterbacks in recent years. They even missed with a 2nd-round pick in 2021 with Kyle Trask, cutting him before the 2025 season.
The Buccaneers appear ready to roll into the 2026 season with former Cincinnati Bengals starter Jake Browning as the backup to 2-time Pro Bowler Baker Mayfield, and Pro Football Focus singled out Browning as the NFL’s best undrafted free agent quarterback.
That might not be the resounding endorsement Buccaneers fans want, however.
“Only 10 undrafted quarterbacks have recorded at least 100 dropbacks over the past three seasons,” PFF’s Daire Carragher wrote. “Jake Browning, who moved from Cincinnati to Tampa Bay this offseason, leads the group with 448 dropbacks and a 66.7 PFF passing grade. Other undrafted quarterbacks who have seen meaningful action recently include Max Brosmer and Brady Cook, though neither has performed particularly well. Ravens backup Tyler Huntley also warrants consideration despite being sacked on 10.0% of his dropbacks. The gap between Browning and Huntley is small enough that either selection would be defensible.”
Buccaneers Had Underwhelming Free-Agent Class
There wasn’t a single headliner in the Buccaneers’ free-agent class, but Browning was a critical signing because the Buccaneers didn’t seem inclined to draft a quarterback.
“Free agent QB Jake Browning plans to sign with the Tampa Bay Bucs on a one-year deal, per source,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on March 11. “From backing up Joe Burrow to Baker Mayfield.”
Browning backed up Joe Burrow on the Cincinnati Bengals the last 3 seasons, including going 4-3 as a starter and leading the NFL in completion percentage (70.4) in 2023.
From NFL Researcher’s official X account: “Jake Browning went 4-3 in 7 starts for the Bengals in 2023 (as starter): 71.5 comp pct (led NFL), 266.9 pass YPG (6th in NFL), 8.2 pass yds/att (4th in NFL), 99.1 passer rating (7th in NFL).”
In 3 seasons, Browning was 4-6 starting in place of Burrow.
“Bucs plan to sign QB Jake Browning to a one year deal,” Tampa Bay Times NFL reporter Rick Stroud wrote on his official X account. “Baker Mayfield has his backup.”
Browning Played Out 2-Year Contract With Bengals
Browning, 28, was an exclusive rights free agent who went 4-3 in 7 starts in 2023, throwing for 1,936 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions as he won 3 of his first 4 starts — the first Bengals quarterback to do so since Boomer Esiason in 1984.
That landed him a 2-year, $1.975 million contract with the Bengals before the 2024 season.
Burrow missed the last seven games of 2023 with a season-ending wrist injury that required surgery, but he should be healthy for the start of the 2024 season.
It was the second time in four seasons that Burrow suffered a season-ending injury, following a major knee injury in 2020. In 2025, Browning went 0-3 in place of an injured Burrow before he was replaced by Joe Flacco.
Jake Browning Set QB Records Before Bengals
Browning first gained notoriety at Folsom (Calif.) High School, where he was a two-time California Gatorade Player of the Year and set national and state passing records.
At Folsom High, Browning set the California state records for pass completions (1,191), pass attempts (1,708), and passing yards (16,775) while setting the national record for passing touchdowns (229).
As a senior, Browning set a national single-season record with 91 touchdown passes and the California single-season record with 5,790 passing yards.
At the University of Washington, Browning became just the second true freshman to open the season as the starting quarterback in school history and started every game for four years, winning two Pac-12 championships and leading the Huskies to the College Football Playoff for the first time in 2016.
Browning still owns Washington records for career passing yards (12,296), career passing touchdowns (94), and single-season passing touchdowns (43).
Despite his college accolades, Browning went undrafted in 2019 and spent three seasons on the practice squad for the Minnesota Vikings — a fact NFL analyst Lance Zierlein attributed largely to a pair of shoulder injuries in 2015 and 2016.
“Browning is a college game-manager whose success is tied to his talent at receiver,” Zierlein wrote in 2019. “Browning has moments where he can rise to the occasion, but he’s failed to sustain it over the last two seasons and he doesn’t have the size, arm strength or intangibles to fall back on. He is a late-round to undrafted prospect with an uphill battle to earn a roster spot.”
Bucs Free Agent QB Called NFL’s Best Undrafted Free Agent