Why Cincinnati Bengals Should Make an Obvious Decision About Joe Burrow’s Future

CINCINNATI — Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is going to play on Sunday against the Dolphins in Miami. He'll also play next week against the Cardinals and in the season finale against the Browns.

He shouldn't.

It sounds like head coach Zac Taylor's job is safe following the news that he's under contract through the 2027 season. Bengals Director of Player Personnel and de-facto general manager Duke Tobin isn't going anywhere.

If both of those guys aren't going anywhere and their jobs are safe, why should the franchise expose Burrow to more hits and injury risk?

"Because he's a competitor and wants to play" isn't a good enough reason.

If these games aren't going to have a major impact on the direction of the franchise, then sit Burrow, play your young talent and evaluate what you have on this roster.

The whole world knows what Burrow is as a player. Why put him in harm's way? The final three games should be about young, unproven players like Shemar Stewart, Demetrius Knight Jr., and Barrett Carter.

Myles Murphy has had a lot of success in recent weeks. See if he can close out the year strong after racking up a career-high 4.5 sacks this season.

Give Tahj Brooks some time at running back.

The Bengals should be all in on the future. They should be evaluating their young talent and seeing which guys can help make them a playoff team next season.

Have the Bengals considered sitting Burrow?

"No," Taylor said bluntly on Monday. "Because we want to win."

Taylor has two years left on his contract. There's maybe a .5% chance of the Bengals moving on from him at the end of the season.

Burrow wants to play. Taylor wants to win.

Those things shouldn't matter. Cincinnati won 5-straight games to end last season. In 2023 they went 4-2 in their final six games. Did those finishes translate to success the following season?

Of course they didn't. The Bengals are currently scheduled to pick ninth in the 2026 NFL Draft. If they win without Burrow than so be it, but they shouldn't put the face of the franchise at risk for three weeks just because they want to feel a little bit better about how this season went.

The 2025 Bengals were a failure. They could win the final three games of the season by a combined score of 300-0 and it's still a failure.

Burrow can stay around the team, but there's absolutely no reason for him to suit up again this season.

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