Jalen Kitna took the field at the Bengals local pro day workout on Tuesday in Cincinnati, wearing the No. 3 jersey the team set aside for him. The quarterback is expected to chase his NFL dream as an undrafted free agent, and the number tied his workout to the father who once wore it in the same city.
Kitna, the son of former Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna, said being around the organization and the city felt special. “Just the Bengals organization, this city, it’s a special place to be,” he said, adding that Cincinnati is a place that takes pride in its team and has people who are deeply invested in the program and organization.
The setting carried more weight because Jon Kitna wore No. 3 for all five of his seasons with the Bengals and for the final two years of his career in Dallas. He signed with the Seahawks after going undrafted out of Central Washington in 1997, then went on to a 14-year career with 124 starts, 29,745 passing yards and 169 touchdowns. Jalen was born in 2003, so his memories of Cincinnati began after the years his father spent there.
The workout was part of a local pro day that included a few dozen NFL hopefuls, and Jalen Kitna was ranked by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler as the No. 33 quarterback in the class. That leaves him trying to turn a family name and a brief return to Cincinnati into a real opening with an NFL team.
For now, the link between father and son is the clearest thing about his path. The jersey was a nod to history, but the bigger test comes next, when Jalen tries to prove that the name on the back of the No. 3 shirt can still earn him a roster spot on his own.
