Report: Auburn QB Payton Thorne lands with Cincinnati Bengals as UDFA

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne has signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent. Thorne will make his way back to the Midwest after finishing his career on the Plains. Michigan State is where he signed coming out of high school.

“Former Auburn QB Payton Thorne is signing with the #Bengals, per source,” Pelissero said via X.

Of course, Cincinnati already has one of the more established quarterbacks in the NFL. Joe Burrow is not going anywhere anytime soon, recently signing a five-year extension worth $275 million. The Bengals have invested a lot in Burrow and believe he can help them win a Super Bowl.

However, there is always an opportunity to fight for backup and even third-string jobs. Jake Browning spent the 2024 season behind Burrow and Logan Woodside was listed as the third quarterback. Thorne will have an opportunity to compete for a spot on Cincinnati’s roster this offseason due to the UDFA deal.

In 11 games this season for Auburn, Thorne threw for 2,713 yards and 21 touchdowns while completing 62.8% of his throws. All of those stats were career highs, going back to his true freshman season with Michigan State.

Payton Thorne goes through roller coaster final season at Auburn

The one game Thorne missed was early in the season when Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze decided to make a quarterback switch. Turnovers were an issue early on (Thorne threw four interceptions in a loss to Cal) and Freeze felt as if Hank Brown was better suited for the Tigers. But the move did not last too long as Thorne was reinstated as Auburn’s starter less than six quarters later.

“Obviously, we’ve turned the ball over too many times, and we got to fix that and be clean with the ball,” Thorne said leading into Auburn’s game against Oklahoma. “But for me, personally, when I’m analyzing my game and I take a look at the turnovers that I’ve had myself, I look at it, I’m not too terribly upset about the decision-making that I’ve had.

“When I look back and look at the context of those interceptions, I’m not banging the table going, ‘What the hell am I doing?’ I try to keep that in mind as best I can. And obviously, you want to keep getting better as the season goes on, but, in terms of that, that’s what I’ve been doing.”