Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that the Bengals have reached out free agent quarterbacks Christian Ponder and Ryan Mallett now that Andy Dalton is out at least a few weeks with a broken thumb.
According to Florio, no decision by any side has been reached at this point in time, but that could obviously change in the coming days.
The Bengals will move forward with A.J. McCarron as their starting quarterback for the time being. It’s worth mentioning that the Bengals have Keith Wenning on their practice squad.
Ponder, 27, hasn’t come anywhere near the type of player the Vikings were hoping he could be when they used the No. 12 overall pick on him back in 2011.
After being cut loose by the Vikings, the Raiders signed him to a one-year, $2.25 million contract. However, he was among their final roster cuts at the start of the season.
Ponder wound up signing on with the Broncos after Peyton Manning got hurt, but was released just a few weeks later.
Last year, Ponder appeared in just two games and threw for 222 yards while completing 50 percent of his passes to go along with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Mallett, 27, signed a two-year, $7 million contract with the Texans back in March that included $1.75 million guaranteed. However, he released just days after he missed the team’s charter to Miami.
This season, Mallett has appeared in six games and thrown for 770 yards while completing 53.1 percent of his passes to go along with three touchdowns and four interceptions.
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