Before Marvin Lewis arrived in Cincinnati in 2003, the Cincinnati Bengals’ quarterback position was a mess. After Boomer Esiason was pushed out of the door in the 1993 offseason, Cincinnati experimented with David Klingler, Jay Schroeder, Jeff Blake, Neil O’Donnell, Akili Smith, Jon Kitna and Scott Mitchell under center.
Yikes.
Since that time, the Bengals have relied on just Carson Palmer and Andy Dalton at the position over the past 15 years. Yes, Kitna ably manned the position in the 2003 transition season, while Ryan Fitzpatrick and AJ McCarron stepped in for spot starts because of injuries to Palmer and Dalton, respectively, but stability has largely been a part of the quarterback position under Lewis.