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Joe Burrow Is Excited By The Bengals' Offseason Moves
CINCINNATI, OHIO - DECEMBER 28: Joe Burrow #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals celebrates after beating the Denver Broncos 30-24 in overtime at Paycor Stadium on December 28, 2024 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)Dylan Buell/Getty Images

The past three years have been rough for Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. After back-to-back AFC championship appearances in 2021 and 2022, including a Super Bowl appearance in 2021, the Bengals have gone just 24-27 over the past three years due in large part to a defense that can barely stop a nosebleed.

But thanks to a few savvy offseason moves, Burrow is at least excited for what the short-term future has in store for him and the team.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Burrow addressed the Bengals' offseason thus far and praised the team for landing the likes of DT Dexter Lawrence, DB Bryan Cook and OL Jacob Bayer.

“I’m really excited about the moves we made this offseason,” Burrow said. “We need to get better, so it was exciting to see the initiative from everybody in the organization to realize that we’re in this exciting stage. We’re in our primes playing great football. Finding guys like Dexter and Bryan Cook and Bayer, to, you know, really solidify that defense so the young guys can also kind of rise up. We’re really going to try to achieve what we want to achieve.”

Best Ability = Availability

But one of the first keys to the Bengals getting over the top and back into the playoffs is going to be keeping Burrow healthy moving forward. That's proven tricky over the last three seasons.

Since 2023, Burrow has missed 16 games, including nine last year. The Bengals are 19-16 in games he's played and just 5-11 in the games he's missed. He's clearly the ultimate difference maker on the team and no combination of player additions is going to change that.


Dec 21, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) looks to make a pass during the third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images© Sam Navarro-Imagn Images.

But improving on both sides of the wall can certainly help plug the gaps when Burrow actually is healthy. Last year the Bengals gave up a franchise record 492 points and had their first season with a negative point differential despite scoring over 400 points in the regular season.

Simply put, if Burrow can stay healthy and the rest of the team can improve even marginally on defense, they could be not only a threat to win their division, but the entire conference.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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