NFL offseason power rankings: No. 17 Cincinnati Bengals better maximize Joe Burrow's prime, and fast
Certain teams in all sports, almost always in small markets, have to deal with regular speculation that their star player wants to leave . Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow opened that door himself last season. Late in a lost season that included another major injury, Burrow made some odd comments during a midweek media conference on his 29th birthday. "If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it," Burrow said . "I've been through a lot. If it's not fun then what am I doing it for?" A few days later, Burrow had one of the worst performances of his career in a sleepy 24-0 home loss to a Baltimore Ravens team that didn't finish .500. That was beyond strange, especially considering the remarks he made a few days before. That's all it took to spark debate among plenty of amateur psychologists. Most of them came to the conclusion that Burrow was saying he wanted out of Cincinnati, which happened in part because the Bengals aren't a popular big-market team. If the Giants or Jets quarterback ever indicates he's unhappy, you won't find a soul saying it's because he wants to leave New York. Play Yahoo's new College Fantasy Football game: Create or join a league now! Burrow said his comments had nothing to do with Cincinnati , but that didn't slow down the chatter. Whatever was going on, it was unusual. It brought to mind the story of Andrew Luck , who retired at age 29 after being frustrated with constant injuries on a poorly constructed Colts team. There were also comparisons to Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson , who retired in part because the Lions kept losing. Burrow's grumbles have been mostly forgotten now. The Bengals won two of their last three games with the offense producing like it normally has with Burrow, Cincinnati trading Burrow never became an offseason storyline and Burrow said he was thrilled with the team's offseason, including a high-profile trade for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II. "I'm really excited about the moves we made this offseason," Burrow told Vanity Fair. "We need to get better, so it was exciting to see the initiative from everybody in the organization to realize that we're in this exciting stage." Maybe Burrow was just having a bad day when he sadly talked about not having fun. Even if that storm passed, the sentiment that Burrow isn't having the best time playing football lingers. The Bengals are just 19-16 in Burrow's starts over the past three seasons, and that includes missing the playoffs despite Burrow playing at an MVP level in 2024. Cincinnati has missed the playoffs three straight seasons. The Bengals' defense has become a big problem, and a spotty offensive line is a reason Burrow has suffered injuries that led to missed games. Burrow is an incredible talent, and if it weren't for one Super Bowl run in 2021 and a good 12-4 encore the following season, we'd be having Archie Manning vibes about his career. Or maybe it's a Dan Marino path, with an early Super Bowl loss and then never enough help to get him back there. The Bengals made big moves to assuage Burrow. The trade for Lawrence, in which the Bengals sent the 10th pick of the draft to the New York Giants , was the first trade involving a top-10 selection for a non-quarterback since the Raiders traded for Randy Moss in 2005. It was impossible to bridge the gap with Trey Hendrickson after a couple years of contract drama, but Cincinnati spent $60 million over three years to replace him with Boye Mafe . Safety Bryan Cook and defensive lineman Jonathan Allen each got $12.5 million per season to help the defense in Cincinnati. The offensive line didn't get much work, and that's an ongoing concern, but at least the Bengals did something. The Bengals still have an all-world receiving duo of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins , a productive running back in Chase Brown and one of the NFL's best quarterbacks in Burrow. "I think this is the most talented roster that we've had since I've been here," said Burrow, wh [... truncated ...]
