Ryan

Finley

Finley even cleared waivers following his release, proving there was no reason to ship a sixth-round pick as a rebuilding organization to Cincinnati (which would’ve released him anyhow) for his services in the first place. Veteran Jeff Driskel will open camp as the team’s No. 2/3 signal-caller.

The Texans are sure to sell those season tickets now. Finley was shaky-legged and completely overwhelmed any time he took the field as Cincinnati’s backup, compiling a career 48.7% completion rate with three touchdowns to four picks. He’ll be listed as Houston’s third-string option if he makes it out of camp.

The Bengals save nearly $1 million with the move. Finley started four forgettable games for the Bengals in two seasons as the team’s backup, completing 48.7 percent of his passes and throwing three touchdowns to four interceptions. The mobile Finley is hardly an ideal backup but should find a job for another team that will pray he never has to make a start.

Allen made five starts in 2020 following Joe Burrow’s torn ACL and is in line to make appearances if there’s an unexpected snag in Burrow’s offseason rehab. The 29-year-old has been described as a “mentor” to Burrow but remains a low-level backup option. This signing is bad news for 2019 fourth-rounder Ryan Finley.

Taylor said Allen will be ready “if we need him,” and that there was no need to reveal his starter on Thursday. The Texans are surely on pins and needles as they wait to find out whether they will be facing Allen or Ryan Finley. Neither player has shown even a modicum of passing juice in Joe Burrow’s absence. For whatever reason, Finley ran vaguely wild against the Steelers in Week 15. Neither are on the streaming or super FLEX radar.

Coach Zac Taylor’s plan of hiding Finley in his first start of the season worked to perfection, as the Bengals pounded the Steelers to death with Finley and Giovani Bernard as runners. Combined, the two ran the ball 35 times. The Bengals took a 17-0 lead into the half. Finley’s lone touchdown pass was a 14-yard hookup with Bernard. Finley made some big-time throws where he took big hits at the end of them, but overall he wasn’t asked to do much. On his touchdown run, Finley kept it on a zone-read, and the linebacker bit way too hard as Finley literally walked in from 23 yards out. It’s unclear if Brandon Allen (knee) will be ready for Week 16 at Houston, but Finley won’t be a fantasy option if he starts.

This was expected after Allen missed practice all week. Allen’s knee injury will sideline him at least one game. The Bengals will turn to Ryan Finley for a Monday night matchup with Pittsburgh. Finley starting lowers the Week 15 floors of Tyler Boyd, A.J. Green, and Tee Higgins.

Finley stepped in after Brandon Allen went down hard while taking his sixth sack of the day. He suffered a chest injury and was ruled out shortly after leaving the field. The game was nearly over after Allen left the field so his high completion rate was likely a product of Miami letting him make easy throws to wind out the clock. He finished the day by throwing an interception on a pass that was tipped in the middle of the field and then caught by a Miami defender. Finley now has four interceptions and two touchdown passes in his career. If he does draw the start versus Dallas next week, all of the Cincinnati receivers will get a massive downgrade.

Under nonstop pressure, Finley was a disaster in relief of Joe Burrow, who tore his ACL in the third quarter. Finley, a miserable passer who completed 47 percent of his throws in three 2019 starts for the Bengals, brings some rushing upside but not enough to start him in anything but the deepest superflex league. Fantasy managers should start any defense facing Finley and the Bengals for the rest of the season. Finley could drag every Bengals pass catcher out of fantasy relevance over the next month and a half. Enjoy Arby’s.

“Thanks for all the love. Can’t get rid of me that easy,” Burrow added. It’s further confirmation of what was painfully obvious to anyone who saw a Washington defender fall into Burrow’s lower leg in the third quarter. Burrow’s recovery will be one of the league’s top offseason story lines. Ryan Finley, who replaced Burrow, has been a disaster through a quarter and a half of action.