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One analyst is predicting the Cincinnati Bengals cutting ties with a Joe Burrow backup

The Cincinnati Bengals spent most of the offseason addressing their defensive issues. That was for good reason, as the team allowed the third-most points in the NFL last season, which led to the team’s worst record since 2020 despite having a top-10 scoring offense.

The Bengals managed to have a top-10 offense last season despite missing quarterback Joe Burrow for most of the season. However, the offense did endure a rough stretch after Burrow went down initially and backup Jake Browning was tasked with leading the offense. That led to Cincinnati trading for Browns quarterback Joe Flacco, who quickly adapted to Zac Taylor’s offense and ended up having a season that resulted in a Pro Bowl selection. 

After the season, Flacco became a free agent, and the veteran quarterback originally wanted to land somewhere where he might have had the chance to win the starting job. Of course, with Joe Burrow in the mix, that opportunity was not going to come in Cincinnati. As a result, the Bengals signed veteran quarterback Josh Johnson as quarterback insurance. Despite this, after Flacco failed to find a starting job elsewhere, he returned to Cincinnati, which put Josh Johnson’s future with the organization in doubt.

Cincinnati Bengals Predicted to Cut Ties With Josh Johnson

And now, one Bengals analyst has predicted that the journeyman quarterback will not make Cincinnati’s 53-man roster.

Cincy Jungle’s Dale Altman revealed his 53-man roster projection for the Cincinnati Bengals, in which he has Joe Burrow and Joe Flacco as the only two quarterbacks on the team, despite the NFL allowing an emergency third-string quarterback.

Although Johnson has never played at a Pro Bowl level like Joe Flacco, he does possess 50 games of NFL experience, including 11 starts. That experience has produced mixed results as he has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns in his career and has a completion percentage below 60%.

Johnson served as the third-string quarterback for the Commanders last season, and he has proven capable of being a team’s primary backup on previous teams.  Johnson has been on seven different NFL teams, including two different stints with the Commanders, with whom he most recently played during the 2025 season. Johnson was also out of the NFL in the 2019 and 2020 seasons as he played football in the Alliance of American Football and the XFL.

Johnson, according to Spotrac, has earned more than $25 million in the NFL since first joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2009.

Bengals Quarterbacks

Regarding Joe Flacco’s role as the team’s backup quarterback, Altman wrote: 

“Flacco is an ideal backup for the Bengals. His experience alone should help with weekly preparation in the quarterback room. While Flacco is 41 years old, the Bengals did not bring in any real competition for the backup quarterback job, and rightfully so. Flacco has shown he can still play at a high level when called upon.”

Regarding the backup quarterback position, offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher previously said, “When you’re looking for a backup quarterback, which is what we’re looking for, you want a great player. The same traits that make a starting quarterback a good player are going to be the traits that make a backup quarterback a good player. But the backup quarterback is a unique job, and an understanding of what that is is important.”