The Bengals have now missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, a far cry from their previous run that included a Super Bowl appearance and multiple AFC Championship trips. One year, their collapse could be pinned on Joe Burrow’s season-ending injury. But last season, the blame fell squarely on the defense, which bled points while Burrow and the offense kept producing at a high level.
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That trend doesn’t bode well for Burrow heading into his sixth NFL season. He’ll turn 29 this year, and with his injury history, it’s unlikely he’ll play deep into his 40s like Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers. He’s entering his prime, yet Cincinnati seems to be wasting his best years behind a leaky defense.
But, as Ryan Clark points out, it’s not entirely on the Bengals’ front office. Some of the responsibility falls on Burrow himself. Why? Because as the face of the franchise and a proven star when healthy, Burrow has sway in roster decisions, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.
Clark believes Burrow’s influence helped shape the Bengals’ financial priorities, leading to the expensive extension of Tee Higgins. Higgins is good enough to be a WR1 on most teams, which meant Cincinnati had to pay him accordingly. On top of that, Ja’Marr Chase also commands top-dollar, and the Bengals weren’t about to let him go.
The result? Two big contracts that ate up cap space, leaving little room to properly rebuild the defense. In trying to keep Burrow surrounded with elite weapons, Cincinnati may have inadvertently doomed the other side of the ball, and with it, their Super Bowl window.
“They are absolutely wasting him, but it’s partly Joe Burrow’s fault as well. Joe Burrow earned the right to say what he wants to have on this team, and he wanted both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. But when you pay Tee Higgins like a 1B, it’s gonna be difficult to get players that can right now affect the way you play on defense.”
Stephen A. Smith echoed the sentiment that the Bengals are wasting Joe Burrow’s prime, but unlike Ryan Clark, he placed the blame squarely on the franchise. Smith argued that Cincinnati hasn’t done nearly enough to build a competent defense around its star quarterback.
According to Smith, Burrow is so talented that he doesn’t even need a Chiefs-like elite defense to win. All he’s asking for is an average unit, just good enough to hold the line while he carries the offense. Yet, year after year, the Bengals have failed to deliver even that.
Burrow took the highest salary, Chase became the highest-paid receiver, and Higgins landed a deal richer than most WR2s. That’s simply unsustainable. The Eagles proved it can be done, but only because someone in their locker room was willing to take slightly less. They also supplemented their stars by attracting free agents on short-term deals and relying on rookies to step up.
The Bengals, however, face an even bigger challenge: their outdated business model. The franchise refuses to hand out heavy guarantees or stretch cap hits across void years, limiting its flexibility.
As a result, Cincinnati will once again need rookies on defense to deliver if Burrow is going to have any shot at dragging them back into the playoffs. Had Burrow and Chase each taken even $5 million less, and had the team paid Higgins like a true WR2, they could have freed up the money to extend Trey Hendrickson and sign much-needed defensive reinforcements.
