Report: Bengals have made calls to free agent QBs since Joe Burrow’s injury

Confirmation that Joe Burrow is set to miss at least the next three months after surgery to repair torn ligaments in his toe didn’t come until Monday, but the Bengals reportedly didn’t wait for that word before starting to make plans for a future without the quarterback.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Bengals started reaching out to free agents after Burrow went down in the first half of Sunday’s win over the Jaguars. Jake Browning played the rest of the game and the Bengals also have Brett Rypien on their practice squad.

One familiar face on the list of free agents is Desmond Ridder. Ridder spent the summer in training camp with the Bengals, which would give him a leg up on learning the offense although his play in Atlanta and Las Vegas did little to create confidence in his ability to lead a team.

Mike White, Taylor Heinicke, Kyle Trask, and Nate Sudfeld are some of the other available quarterbacks. The Bengals could also sign someone to their active roster off another team’s practice squad or they could look into the trade market.

Falcons backup Kirk Cousins is one of the names that will come up on that front. Jameis Winston of the Giants and Case Keenum of the Bears are both the third quarterbacks on their roster while the Eagles have both Sam Howell and Tanner McKee backing up Jalen Hurts, but it’s unclear whether any of those teams are going to be motivated to make a move at this point in the season.