The Joe Burrow era is alive and should continue to go on for years to come, according to some of the most well-placed NFL insiders.
Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported they do not expect Burrow to force his way off the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason, in news that should be seen as a gift for fans this holiday season.
Burrow, of course, is one of the best quarterbacks in franchise history, even through only 75 games. He’s won the Comeback Player of the Year twice and is one of only three men to guide the Bengals to the Super Bowl — and remains the only active quarterback to defeat Patrick Mahomes in a playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium.
Burrow is still a year from his 30th birthday and in the first year of a five-year, $275 million contract. But Cincinnati is on the verge of missing the playoffs for the third straight season.
ESPN Insiders: No Indication Burrow Wants Out Of Cincinnati
Burrow has been a good soldier in Cincinnati, even amid his injuries and the Bengals’ maddeningly inconsistent defense over the past three seasons.
Yet, Burrow raised eyebrows a few weeks ago during a brutally honest press availability that captured the NFL’s attention. Still, both Graziano and Fowler agree Burrow is content in the Queen City.
“I think it’s unlikely he wants out,” Graziano reported. “People have been trying to get him out of Cincinnati since before the Bengals even drafted him, and he has never expressed any desire to not be there.
“Theories about what was bothering him at that news conference a couple of weeks ago are wide-ranging, with some believing he was going through something difficult off the field, and others believing he’s sick of the way the Bengals operate. We don’t know for sure, but I don’t get the sense the Bengals are worried he’s going to force his way out.”
Fowler concurred with Graziano’s reporting.
“My sense is the Bengals have not received any indication that Burrow wants out of Cincinnati,” he wrote. “One team source believed that Burrow was simply having a “bad day” two weeks ago at that initial news conference that sparked the consternation, saying, ‘I truly think he wants to be here,’ and that he has been great in game prep.”
The Bengals Will Need To Go All-In In 2026
You can make the case the Bengals have already been as aggressive as they ever have to show Burrow they are serious about winning.
They locked in his top-two wideouts, Ja’Marr Chase (four years, $161 million) and Tee Higgins (four years, $115 million), to un-Bengals-like contracts. They figured out a contract for first-round pick Shemar Stewart and made nice with Trey Hendrickson to lure him back to Cincinnati.
The Bengals could blame their foibles in 2025 on Burrow’s turf-toe injury, since they were 2-0 when he went down. But they’ll need to keep their foot on the gas in 2026 to avoid another playoff-empty season — especially with the AFC now wide open with Mahomes potentially missing the entire 2026 season with a torn ACL.
The Bengals really need to upgrade their defense, which has bottomed out this season and could cause Burrow to reconsider if it does not improve by this time next year.
“If it struggles mightily for another year, I could see Burrow being more forceful [about leaving],” Fowler wrote. “There’s simply not enough talent on that side to make a run at the AFC North. A few draft picks — defensive end Myles Murphy and corners DJ Turner and Dax Hill — look like keepers. But that’s not enough. The Bengals will need to get creative in free agency and the draft to properly support Burrow and the offense.”
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