Duke Tobin Addresses Concern That Bengals Are Wasting Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase’s Super Bowl Window

CINCINNATI — The Bengals have missed the playoffs in each of the past three seasons. They went 6-11 in 2025 and just 1-8 in the nine games Joe Burrow missed after undergoing toe surgery in September.

Cincinnati is 24-27 over the past three seasons and that includes a 9-8 mark in 2024 when Burrow played at a MVP level and star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase led the NFL in receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708) and receiving touchdowns (17).

Their recent struggles have led to some questioning the direction of the franchise. Are the Bengals wasting Burrow? Are they wasting Chase? Are they failing to maximize the championship window of their star players?

"Well, it's the Bengals, and when we don't win a championship, that's the only thing that I'm after is a championship," Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin said. "It's not any individual in this building's championship. It's the Cincinnati Bengals championship. And that's really the only definition of success that I have. I don't have a definition of success of making the playoffs or doing X, Y, or Z. It's the team that has the positive feeling at the end of the season. That's the only thing that I'm chasing. That's what we want. We want it for all of our players. We want it for all of our staff. You know, we have set our team up for Joe in a way that we feel is pretty darn good, and there are resources on the team that we've expended on that. So when you spend 60% or 65% or whatever it is on offense of your cap, it's going to affect the other parts of your team. We know that we have to find solutions that fit into that that then produce on the other side of the ball. And we will, and we will. We're positive about that."

The Bengals desperately need to add to their roster this offseason. Their issues on defense are well documented, but they also need to make sure the offense takes another step forward if they're hoping to get back into Super Bowl contention.

Check out Tobin's full comments here.

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