The Cincinnati Bengals probably understand the value of a reliable backup quarterback better than most teams. Their 2025 season ended up revolving largely around backups like Jake Browning and Joe Flacco after Joe Burrow went down with an injury. That experience likely shaped their thinking, and with free agency underway, the Bengals have already moved to address the backup quarterback spot.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bengals have brought veteran quarterback Josh Johnson back on the roster ahead of the 2026 season.

Johnson’s career has never been defined by elite status, but longevity has been a big part of his story. The 39-year-old quarterback has spent years moving around the league. In that stretch, he has played for more than ten different NFL teams, including a previous stint with the Bengals.

Still, he presents a solid veteran option behind Burrow, who missed a large portion of the 2025 season because of turf toe. Johnson brings more than a decade of NFL experience to the role. Over that time, he has appeared in 50 regular-season games and started 11 of them with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, and Baltimore Ravens.

Across those 50 games, Johnson has thrown for 2,669 yards with 14 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. He has also added 481 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 94 carries.

Johnson spent the 2025 season in Washington, but the 2026 season will bring him back to Cincinnati. His history with the Bengals actually goes back to the 2013 season, when he appeared in two games for the team. He later returned to Cincinnati in 2015, although he did not see any playing time that year.

Beyond familiarity with the organization and his long résumé in the league, the Bengals were also looking for a very specific mindset in their backup quarterback. Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher explained what the team values in that role.

“When you’re looking for a backup quarterback, which is what we’re looking for, you want a great player,” Pitcher said. “The same traits that make a starting quarterback a good player are going to be the traits that make a backup quarterback a good player. But the backup quarterback is a unique job, and an understanding of what that is is important.

“Because you have to have a guy that’s very intrinsically motivated, somebody that can just go to work and do the work day in and day out because they know it’s the right thing to do, and because they can get themselves to a place mentally where ‘I might have to play at any given moment, but I also may not play all year.’ And that’s different than any other position in the building…”

Whether Johnson can fully match the expectations Pitcher described will only become clear with time. But for now, one thing is certain. The Bengals have found their backup quarterback behind Joe Burrow after moving on from the previous option.

The Bengals chose not to retain Jake Browning

Heading into free agency, Jake Browning was a restricted free agent, which gave the Bengals the option to retain their backup quarterback. However, the franchise chose not to place a tender on him, allowing Browning to become an unrestricted free agent.

Originally an undrafted free agent in 2019, Browning eventually joined the Bengals ahead of the 2021 season. Since then, he has been serving as Joe Burrow’s primary backup. Over the last three seasons, Browning started 10 games. He went 4-3 as a starter in 2023 but finished 0-3 in his three starts during the 2025 season.

For a broader context, Browning has completed 68.5 percent of his passes in the NFL for 2,707 yards with 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. One of his busiest stretches came last season when Burrow went down with a turf toe injury in Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Stepping in for Burrow, Browning completed 21 of 32 passes for 241 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions, helping lead the Bengals to a 31-27 comeback win. He kept the starting job for the next few games but went 0-3 during that stretch, which eventually led the Bengals to turn to Joe Flacco.

Now that Cincinnati chose not to bring him back, Browning has moved on. The quarterback has signed with the Buccaneers on a one-year deal, where he is expected to serve as Baker Mayfield’s backup.