Bengals vs. Browns NFL Week 1 odds: Jake Browning would start at quarterback for Cincinnati if Joe Burrow is unavailable due to calf injury

While the Cincinnati Bengals are expecting superstar quarterback Joe Burrow to be ready for Week 1 in Cleveland after he suffered a calf injury very early in training camp, the team's starting quarterback apparently will be former undrafted free agent Jake Browning if for some reason Burrow isn't good to go. Browning has never taken a regular-season NFL snap. The Bengals are currently -2 per SportsLine consensus. The Browns have a single Week 1 victory in their past 18 tries. 

Burrow has yet to participate in practice since suffering a calf injury on July 27. In a bit of a surprise, the Bengals today released veteran journeyman Trevor Siemian, who was expected to be Burrow's No. 2 thanks to his 35 career NFL games of experience and 30 starts (13-17 record) with the Broncos, Jets, Saints and Bears. Siemian didn't look very good this preseason, though, completing just 55.4% of his passes with zero touchdowns and two picks for a rating of 55.7.

Siemian was signed to a one-year deal in March after the Bengals let their primary 2022 Burrow backup, Brandon Allen, sign with the 49ers this offseason. The Bengals are also waiving QB Reid Sinnett, although they are interested in a practice squad deal with him. They could do the same with Siemian, although he may get claimed.

The 27-year-old Browning had a terrific career at the University of Washington, including winning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2016, but was undrafted in 2019 and eventually signed with Minnesota. He has spent each of the past two seasons on Cincinnati's practice squad. This preseason, he has completed 71.1% of his passes for 277 yards, a TD and two picks for a rating of 75.9. That's not very good, either.

It's possible Cincinnati scoops up another quarterback who gets released Tuesday, but Allen is expected to stay in San Francisco after the 49ers traded Trey Lance. The deadline for NFL teams to cut rosters down to 53 players is 4 p.m. ET.

DraftKings has Burrow set at over/under 4425.5 passing yards and 33.5 TD passes this year. The yardage Under is taking a big lean with 72% of the handle and 67% of the bets, while the TDs Over is taking 83% of the bets and 62% of the handle. Cincinnati is set at O/U 10.5 wins. 

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