Jake Browning after beating Vikings: 'They never should've cut me'
Jake Browning #6 of the Cincinnati Bengals celebrates after the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Paycor Stadium on December 16, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. ((Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Jake Browning couldn’t help himself after the Cincinnati Bengals rallied for a 27-24 overtime win over the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday.
Browning signed with the Vikings as an undrafted college free agent in 2019 after a stellar career at Washington. He spent time on Minnesota’s practice squad before eventually being waived on Aug. 31, 2021. His highlight with the Vikings? A night practice at TCO Stadium during training camp where he took every passing attempt. Kellen Mond had tested positive for COVID-19, and Kirk Cousins was in COVID protocol for being a close contact.
Browning has now made six starts with the Bengals, as Joe Burrow is out for the season. Saturday, against his former team, Browning was 29-of-42 passing for 324 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He hit Tyler Boyd for a 44-yard gain in overtime, and after Evan McPherson’s game-winning field goal, he went to the TV cameras and yelled, "They never should’ve cut me."
He went into detail post game about his release from Minnesota.
"I’m not going to sit here and say it’s not a good feeling. I remember getting cut there the last time, and just being told we might have a spot for you on the practice squad, just go to the hotel and wait. So I sat in the hotel for a couple of hours not knowing if I had a job or not," Browning said. "I got a call from my agent, they didn’t even tell me, I had been there for two years. I’ve been cut my fair share of times and that was probably the s*****est one. There was a little bit more this week. It’s a completely different coaching staff and everything, but that one felt good. I think right after the field goal to win the game I screamed at a camera and said ‘They never should’ve cut me.’"
We all love a good revenge story, but Browning is pointing fingers at the wrong regime. Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman cut Browning, not Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.