It Took 5 Seasons, But Browning Makes NFL Debut
It took five years and didn't come under the most pleasant of circumstances — and didn't last long — but Jake Browning played in his first regular-season NFL game.
On Sunday, the former University of Washington quarterback finished up the Cincinnati-Cleveland game, summoned to replace Bengals' starter Joe Burrow in a 24-3 loss to their cross-state rival, and finally became an official player in the league record books.
Burrow, recently made the highest-paid person in NFL history at $275 million over five seasons, was pulled with the game out of reach after he was unable to generate much offense at all.
Browning entered with 5:15 left to play. He handed the ball twice to running back Joe Mixon for 1-yard gains and threw a short pass that fell incomplete and the Bengals punted.
Cincinnati regained possession of the ball in the closing seconds, just long enough for Browning to take a knee at the Bengals 18 to end the game.
Browning had appeared in plenty of preseason games for the Minnesota Vikings and the Bengals, but he'd never handled a regular-season snap.
Jake Browning takes the snap as he officially becomes an NFL player with his regular-season debut.
Sam Greene/USA TODAY Sports
At the UW, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Browning was a four-year starter and record-setting passer, throwing for 12,296 yards and 94 touchdowns while starting 54 games.
He guided the Huskies to the 2016 College Football Playoffs against Alabama, the 2017 Fiesta Bowl against Penn State and the 2019 Rose Bowl against Ohio State. He was 39-15 as the first-teamer.
Browning went undrafted and signed as a free agent with the Vikings, where he spent three seasons on the practice squad. He's been with the Bengals for two seasons now and serves as Burrow's back-up.
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