Shortly after the Bengals were eliminated from last year’s playoffs, Joe Burrow made his displeasure known in no uncertain terms.
“We don’t want to be in the spot we are in now, so something’s got to change,” Burrow reported Dec. 31. “Whether it’s players we have continuing to improve and get better and play championship-caliber football or bringing in guys that will or whatever it may be. Obviously, something has to [change].”
Speaking Wednesday amid voluntary workouts, Burrow struck a much different tone.
“We have everything we need in that locker room,” he reported. “We just gotta go and make it happen.”
The three-time Pro Bowler noted the additions of “the best free-agent safety,” “the best [defensive] tackle in the league, in my opinion,” and “a lot of depth, now, on the defensive line” as reasons for that feeling, alluding to Bryan Cook, Dexter Lawrence and a bevy of other defensive line additions, respectively.
“I think this is the most talented roster that we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Burrow reported.
It was an unusually active — and bold — offseason for Cincinnati, and the Lawrence acquisition was the headliner. The Bengals sent the No. 10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to the Giants for Lawrence, a uniquely disruptive defensive tackle who.
It was a steep price for a player who turns 29 in November and is coming off a down season, but Burrow appreciated the Bengals’ approach.
“I was fired up, obviously,” Burrow reported. “Tough to find a guy at pick number 10 that’s gonna have more of an impact than Dexter will, so it’s exciting that we made that happen.
The Giants selected offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa at No. 10.
Burrow also reported it’s “fair to say” all of the additions add a sense of urgency, especially given the team’s three-year playoff drought. In addition to Cook and Lawrence, the Bengals signed EDGE Boye Mafe and defensive lineman Jonathan Allen and drafted EDGE Cashius Howell at No. 41 overall.
It’s all a massive effort to improve a defense that simply hasn’t held its own. Over the past three years, the Bengals have lost seven games in which they’ve scored 30 or more points. That’s the most in the NFL by far; no other team has more than four such losses.
Burrow played in just eight games last year due to turf toe. The Bengals went 5-3 in the games in which he played and 1-8 in the games he did not play.
But he once again has high hopes for a healthier and more productive 2026, heading a potent offense that includes Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Chase Brown, and all five offensive line starters returning. When asked if he had any statistical achievements in mind, he mentioned the Bengals’ all-time passing touchdowns record. When informed he was 48 away — a number that hasn’t been touched since Aaron Rodgers in 2020 — from passing Andy Dalton’s mark, Burrow had a one-word answer.
“Doable.”
