Cincinnati Bengals: Matt Barkley not a viable option at backup quarterback

The Cincinnati Bengals signing quarterback Matt Barkley earlier this offseason gives the team a backup option, but one that should be upgraded.

Every NFL season teaches teams new lessons on what works and what doesn’t. One of the important ones from last season has to be that having a trustworthy backup quarterback option can not only keep your team afloat, but if the position is filled properly a team can still even win a Super Bowl when losing an MVP-caliber starter.

Obviously there is more to it (Philadelphia had the most talented top-to-bottom roster in the NFL, led by shrewd moves across it over multiple years and a well-prepared, innovative coaching staff), but there’s no way the Eagles make it through the playoffs last season if Nick Foles had been switched out for many possible backup options.

It doesn’t appear that the Cincinnati Bengals following that lesson, however. While the team was clearly banking on AJ McCarron being around for another season behind Andy Dalton, that outcome wasn’t to be. Following an arbitration hearing to determine his free agency status (whether he would be considered a restricted free agent or unrestricted, based on his availability in his rookie season), it was decided that he was unrestricted, leaving him able to sign with any team without said team needing to worry about Cincinnati matching their offer nor needing to compensate Cincinnati if they allowed him to leave.

With McCarron moving on, the team had a chance to add any number of interesting options to vie for their backup spot. They could have gotten a stable veteran presence like Josh McCown or Matt Moore. Maybe they could have taken a flier on someone with possible starter upside like Teddy Bridgewater, or possibly do something wild like ending the league-wideblackballing of Colin Kaepernick (in 2011, then-Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden had to talk owner Mike Brown into Dalton over Kaepernick; Kaepernick was also tied to numerous rumors with the Bengals during last season as well).

Instead of any of those, Cincinnati decided to bring in Matt Barkley. Barkley is the exact sort of cheap move which has persisted throughout the reign of Brown as owner. If things go right, Barkley never sees the field; if they go wrong, he is not going to do anything to help this team win.

He’s taken snaps in 12 games across his career. In them, he’s tossed only eight touchdowns compared to 18 interceptions and five fumbles. Six times, he has thrown multiple interceptions in games. Three times, he’s had three or more, including a five-pick game against Washington in 2016. For his career, he has struggled to even complete 60 percent of his passes (59.8 percent to be precise). He’s never completed a single 40-yard pass (his longest is 37). His passer rating has only been above 90.0 twice, and only once has his QBR ever eclipsed 50.0.

What the signing of Barkley does is give Cincinnati someone who can take a snap from center and has starting experience, but he won’t do much better for the team than just looking like a quarterback.

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There is still time for Cincinnati to make up for this problem, however. They have plenty of draft picks and could use one on a developmental project the way they did with McCarron (there are numerous late-round prospects to consider). At worst, any one of those guys will give exactly what Barkley does; if things work out though any one of them could be cheap, quality backups for years to come.

One can only hope the Bengals manage to correct this mistake before we reach the season.