It’s one thing to say that Jake Browning’s performance Sunday was just a bad day at the office. Personally, Joe Burrow’s injury and having surgery may have had something to do with the performance. It was a 17-3 game late in the second quarter with the Bengals driving. The game was still hanging in the balance… until it wasn’t.
If the Bengals were going to pack it in in the second half, already reeling from the week that was, then why were Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins still in the game? That’s on Zac Taylor.
With Taylor taking immense heat, imagine what making a move like acquiring Kirk Cousins and naming him the starter could do for the locker room. What it could do for the city.
It never hurts to ask, as ESPN NFL reporter Dan Graziano said on Monday.
It never hurts to ask, right? Cousins wants out of Atlanta, where he signed a four-year contract in the spring of 2024 but was relegated to backup duty by the end of his first season there. I think the Falcons would take the call, but I still think it would cost a lot to pry Cousins out of there.
He actually finished Sunday’s game for the Falcons after starter Michael Penix Jr. had a miserable time in what turned out to be a 30-0 loss to the Panthers. With all of the quarterback injuries we’ve already seen (and the potential that the offense doesn’t get going around Penix), the Falcons like having a veteran with Cousins’ extensive experience in that backup role.
I also didn’t get the sense last week that this was something Cincinnati would consider. I’m not sure they see the 2025 version of Cousins as a marked improvement over Browning, given their familiarity with Browning. But if they’re still holding onto hope that Burrow can come back toward the end of the season, and the mission is to keep things afloat until that happens, Browning must look a lot better than he did Sunday. Or else the Bengals will have to look at other options.
I’ll admit; I wasn’t warm to the idea on signing Kirk Cousins last week. That was because I thought Browning was ready to do something special, and because I didn’t think Kirk Cousins still had what made him a really good quarterback for over a decade in the NFL.
But now, it makes sense to acquire a guy like Cousins. It’s not just for his pedigree. Cousins has a personality that this city will embrace. Even if Joe Burrow can’t come back, the Bengals can contend this season with Cousins.
If this season continues to unravel, it’s going to be very interesting to see how Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins handle it. These guys are used to winning, and Chase has spoken up before in times of adversity. It would not be shocking to see Chase voice frustrations if this season continues to unravel.
Speaking of Chase, Cousins has played with an elite wide receiver in Justin Jefferson. Now, he could be throwing to Ja’Marr Chase.
I wonder if Justin Jefferson thinks about what Chase is working with in Cincinnati. Does Jefferson think to himself, “What are the Bengals doing with Chase?” The Bengals can’t waste a season of Chase in his prime because they didn’t go get a quarterback outside the organization.
Speaking of Taylor, he’s part of the Sean McVay coaching tree. That coaching tree includes Kevin O’Connell and Matt LaFleur. They have shown they can take any quarterback and win with them. McVay did it with Baker Mayfield in 2022. But yet, Taylor can’t?
If that’s the argument for not bringing in Cousins, that tells you how severely limited Taylor is as an offensive play-caller and schemer and overall head coach.
The pros outweigh the cons. It’s time for the Bengals to make this move.
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