Bengals Quarterback Room BARELY Ranked Among Top-10 NFL Groups Entering 2026 Season

The Bengals don't have a top-tier quarterback room, according to one outlet. The Ringer's Diante Lee ranked all 32 NFL quarterback rooms based on total talent and depth, with Cincinnati checking in at No. 10 overall behind teams like the Packers, Chargers, and Bears.

Cincinnati has a pretty-much consensus top-five starter in Joe Burrow and backupJoe Flacco, who's started the most NFL games of any backup quarterback in the league entering this season (201 starts).

Disrespectful??

Aug 28, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterbacks Joe Burrow (L) and Joe Flacco (R) walks out of the tunnel before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Burrow is an established postseason force, but he hasn’t ever seriously factored into the MVP or All-Pro conversation," Lee wrote. "And after three consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs (including two in which Burrow suffered injuries), it’s fair to wonder whether he’ll deliver a return on his current $275 million deal.

"Cincinnati’s backup plan is confusing. The Bengals have wisely put veteran pocket passers behind Burrow, himself a pocket passer, for the sake of scheme continuity, but the 41-year-old Flacco no longer provides much upside. He was a sack-and-turnover machine at times last season. And Cincinnati’s third quarterback, 40-year-old Josh Johnson, puts the 'journey' in journeyman. Flacco’s $6 million salary is a huge overpay relative to his performance on the field, and the $1.5 million for Johnson’s veteran minimum deal could’ve been spent on a younger, more interesting developmental option that the Bengals could keep behind Burrow long term."

It's not a crazy, crazy ranking given some of the depth at the top, and Cincinnati is hoping to not have any backup starts behind Burrow this season. Still, the Bengals could easily have the top QB room in the NFL if Burrow logs an MVP campaign.

If one quarterback plays and wins MVP, then that's the best "room" by default.

He's flip-flopped healthy seasons each year of his career, and if history holds, Burrow will start every game this fall.

Check out the full ranking here, which has New England, Los Angeles (Rams), Buffalo, Kansas City, Baltimore, Green Bay, Los Angeles (Chargers), San Francisco, and Chicago above Cincinnati in that order.

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