The Bengals landed themselves in a difficult position when their star QB, Joe Burrow, suffered a wrist injury and was then declared out for the season. Though their backup QB Jake Browning took the field when Burrow was taken off the field against the Ravens and delivered an adequate performance, the Bengals have been on the lookout for another QB.
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Soon after the vacancy at the QB spot, many believed Colin Kaepernick to be a possible fit for the role, but it seems the team has silenced the murmurs by making a final leap on a new QB. The team has apparently found their new signal caller in the XFL. Their new QB is former Renegade Drew Plitt.
After Burrow‘s untimely end to the season, the 2022 Super Bowl finalists have been left a little short in the QB department. Aside from Browning, they only have a 33-year-old veteran, A.J. McCarron, from the practice squad to deputize. Both have combined 29 games under their belt.
The Bengals Find Joe Burrow’s Replacement From XFL
Joe Burrow became the highest-paid QB in the league when he signed a 5-year, $275 million contract extension in 2023. Since then, he has played 10 games, losing 5 before getting injured and being declared out for the remainder of the season. Now to compensate for the loss of the former Heisman winner, the Bengals have signed former Arlington Renegades QB Drew Plitt.
Plitt was initially signed by the Bengals as an undrafted agent in 2022. He played one pre-season game for the team but was waived off in August last year. He has since played 5 games for the XFL‘s Arlington Renegades in the 2022-23 season, where he completed 63 passes for 668 yards. With Burrow out, Plitt has since been re-signed by Cincinnati to their practice squad for the remainder of the season. He is their 2nd QB recruit from the XFL after A.J. McCarron.
Jake Browning took Burrow’s place for the remainder of the game against the Ravens. But there is no guarantee that he will start in their next fixture against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He would have to compete for the starting job with McCarron and the newly signed Pitt.
The Bengals would have to rely on three different shot callers to salvage this season. They are currently 5-5 this season and face an uphill battle in the race for the playoffs. With Burrow out, the herculean task falls on the shoulders of 3 inexperienced QBs with little or no pedigree. They are currently last in their division and out of the wild card spot. They have been to two AFC Championship games and one Super Bowl with Burrow.
The rest of the team would have to make up for the loss of their talisman. They have to rally around the backups if they have any hope of clinching the playoff spot and making it to their 3 consecutive AFC Championship game.
