CINCINNATI — For Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, the roster compiled ahead of the upcoming offseason might be as good as it gets.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, the Cincinnati veteran lauded the work the team’s front office did in recent months to overhaul a roster that has missed the playoffs in each of the last three seasons. The Bengals are coming off a 6-11 campaign that featured defensive struggles and a toe injury that kept Burrow off the field for nine games.
But after a slew of acquisitions, including a very unlikely trade for Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II, Burrow stated he believes this is the best collection of players he has played with in seven seasons, including the team that was in Super Bowl LVI after the 2021 season.
“I think this is the most talented roster that we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Burrow stated after Wednesday’s voluntary workout.
Joe Burrow says he believes this is the most talented Bengals roster since he was drafted by the team in 2020. AP Photo/Ben JacksonIn his first news conference since the end of last season, Burrow rattled off all the names Cincinnati added in the offseason. At the beginning of free agency, Cincinnati signed former Seattle Seahawks edge rusher Boye Mafe to a three-year deal worth $60 million. The Bengals also signed former Kansas City Chiefs safety Bryan Cook to a three-year deal worth just over $40 million.
Burrow noted that he did not have his usual postseason debrief with the team’s front office at the end of last season. But he stayed in constant communication as the Bengals’ personnel department, led by de facto general manager Duke Tobin, rebuilt the roster.
“We got guys that work really hard to put themselves in position to perform well, perform to our standard,” Burrow stated. “We haven’t necessarily done that for a couple of years, so we brought some guys in who have been there and done that and have their own standard of play and are going to live up to that.”
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All of Cincinnati’s major offseason additions have been present for the team’s voluntary workouts, which are currently in the second phase. That includes Lawrence, whom Burrow believed warranted trading the No. 10 pick to the New York Giants in order to have the rights to Lawrence, who was given a one-year contract extension worth $28 million after the trade.
“It’s tough to find a guy at pick No. 10 that’s going to have more of an impact than Dexter will,” Burrow stated. “So it’s exciting that we went and made that happen.”
Cincinnati is hopeful that the depth along the defensive line, along with the growth of young players such as linebackers Demetrius Knight II and Barrett Carter, will be enough to push the Bengals back into playoff contention after a three-year drought.
During moments of his news conference that stretched for more than 20 minutes, Burrow outlined his ambitions for the upcoming season. He wants to break the team’s franchise touchdown record currently held by Andy Dalton, who preceded Burrow as the team’s starting quarterback. If Burrow gets 48 this season, he’ll hold the record outright.
But when answering a question about growing the franchise’s overall profile, Burrow aspired for the game’s greatest heights.
Stated Burrow: “We’re going to go win a lot of games this year and play great and win a Super Bowl.”
