Joe Burrow Feels Bengals 'Have Everything We Need' For Special 2026 Season in Cincinnati

Joe Burrow sat down with Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson recently as the superstar quarterback dives fully into the team's offseason program.

Cincinnati has allocated nearly all of its salary cap space to improving its defense and solidifying its offensive line this spring. Investments that have Burrow and the rest of the entrenched players this decade hyped to get into game action.

The Bengals rank 30th in the NFL with just $7.1 million in cap space. They have done just about all fans could ask for this offseason, outside of structuring contracts a little better and adding a veteran linebacker.

"They're going to keep getting great players to come play for the Bengals, and when they do that, then it's my job and Zac's job and the leaders of this team to bring the locker room together and then go execute on the field," Burrow said in Hobson's piece. "We have everything we need.

"We made a big trade for a big-time player. Signed a free agent top safety on the market, and other additions. We'll see how the rookies end up … But first impressions, we've got guys that care about the game, care about their job, and want to be great. When you have young guys like that and veterans as we do, it's a recipe for success."

Burrow has been in a one-year injured, one-year healthy yo-yo for just about his whole NFL career.

Last season was one of those rough, injury-marred runs. Everyone around the team knows what can happen if he bounces back like he has before with a fully-healthy season.

"You can feel the vibe and the leadership has changed in the locker room a little bit," Burrow said. "It's exciting for everyone. B. Cook (Bryan Cook), in the limited time he's been here, you can feel his presence early. Dexter (Lawrence), too. A lot of guys on the D-Line now. You have Jonathan Allen. Myles (Murphy) is walking around with a little more pep in his step this year. That's exciting to see. I think he grew in confidence from the last five, six games. We need to carry that over, and I'm excited to see that."

Burrow is fully healthy, as dialed into the sport as he's ever been, and has a fully returning offensive line to protect him.

Stars Aligning

Dec 28, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) runs off the field after the victory over the Denver Broncos at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The Bengals are facing what's projected as the third-easiest schedule in the NFL by betting win totals.

The stars are aligning all over for a big Bengals stretch, but the work has to be done right to make it all happen. Plenty of early 1 p.m. ET games sounds great to Burrow.

"That's good. When we go on the road, we get back home early and watch more football," Burrow said. "It's always beneficial to watch more games. See how teams are playing and what teams are doing. See what defenses are doing.

"We'll try to get flexed a couple of times into the sweet spot later in the season. Everybody feels like this is going to be an exciting season for us, so now we put in the work over the next several months to put the pieces in place to get to where we want."

Flexing out of some of those early slots into primetime, playoff-impact outings would be a great problem to have.

Check out the full piece from Hobson here.

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