With Joe Burrow's status still up in the air this week, the Bengals have decided to add some QB insurance. On Friday, the team announced that they've signed Reid Sinnett to their practice squad. Further bolstering the quarterback depth, the club also signed veteran AJ McCarron to the practice squad, according to NFL Media.
The signing means that the Bengals now have a total of four quarterbacks on their roster: Burrow, Jake Browning, Sinnett and McCarron. The Sinnett signing makes sense because he's somewhat familiar with the Bengals offense after spending all of training camp with them. The 26-year-old was signed in late July before being cut in late August. The same goes for McCarron, who played for the Bengals from 2014-2017. While this is a different regime from when he was with the organization, he does have familiarity with the franchise and four career starts in the NFL under his belt.
Head coach Zac Taylor told reporters on Saturday that Burrow will officially be listed as questionable for Monday's matchup and said "we'll see" when asked if he'll suit up. Taylor also added that it's "doubtful" that Burrow would dress and be active for the game if he is not the starter.
If Burrow can't play on Monday against the Rams, then Browning still step into the starting job and Sinnett or McCarron will serve as his backup.
The Bengals were forced to sign a quarterback on Friday after the Patriots poached Will Grier from their practice squad. Grier had been the third QB on Cincinnati's roster, but after he signed with New England, that left the Bengals with just two quarterbacks, which put them in a precarious position, especially considering Burrow's current health status.
Although Burrow sounded hopeful of playing, he admitted this week that the final call on his status might not belong to him.
"That may not be my decision to make," Burrow said. "My job is to go out and play. That's what I'm preparing to do. I'm preparing like I'm going to go out and play a "Monday Night Football" game. Whether that happens, I don't know but I'm going to be prepared to."
After missing a month of training camp due to a calf injury that he suffered in late July, Burrow returned in Week 1, only to aggravate the injury in a Week 2 loss to the Ravens. Burrow's calf isn't going to get any better if he keeps playing on it, which is why this is such a tough call for the Bengals.
