Keeping Joe Burrow Happy Crucial to His Future With Bengals, Reveals Insider

The Cincinnati Bengals have to do a lot more to ensure superstar quarterback Joe Burrow stays with the team.

Keeping Joe Burrow Happy Crucial to His Future With Bengals, Reveals Insider

Bengals have to keep Joe Burrow happy (Image via Bengals/X)

In Short
  • Cincinnati Bengals must improve their roster to keep quarterback Joe Burrow happy.
  • Joe Burrow's future with the team is dependent on the performance in the 2026 season.
  • The trade for Dexter Lawrence aims to strengthen the defense and retain Burrow's commitment.

It is not a secret that the Cincinnati Bengals organization has not been able to put together a capable roster around superstar quarterback Joe Burrow.

Ever since they reached and lost Super Bowl LVI, the general expectation was that with the LSU superstar at the helm, they should not have trouble going back for another chance at breaking the organization’s deadlock.

The problem is that the franchise does not look at its own record of three Super Bowl appearances in 56 years of existence in the NFL, and all three times they lost.

A losing team usually needs reinforcements if it is to return and possibly contend for the most important trophy. If anything, they can look at what the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Philadelphia Eagles have done.

But it seems those ideas do not work when it is the Ohio-based franchise’s turn, and that has started to have an impact on Joe Burrow’s mental and physical health, and possibly his future with the team.

This is a critical season for Joe Burrow in Cincinnati… The Bengals are doing what they can here… to make sure that they try to win this year to keep Joe Burrow happy.

Adam Schefter said on Get Up

The ESPN Insider’s opinion follows reports that the signal caller apparently sent threats to the Bengals’ front office, which led them to trade for Dexter Lawrence.

Joe Burrow’s future hinges on 2026 season

One of the points Adam Schefter made was that the upcoming 2026 season will play a big role in helping Joe Burrow make a decision about his future with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Joe Burrow future with Bengals depends on 2026 season
Joe Burrow’s future with Bengals depends on the 2026 season (Image via Imago)

The organization has fielded some of the worst defensive units in the past two seasons, and also did not have an offensive line worthy of keeping their superstar quarterback upright. They have tried to fix the latter, but it is the defense that has become a sticking point in every conversation surrounding the team.

Sure, Joe Burrow’s health is the most important factor that transforms the team from playoff contenders to a downright poor team. That is despite the fact that they have an elite receiving core and can sometimes lean on their running game.

It so happens that the defense is so bad that an average backup quarterback will find it overwhelming to try to keep up with their opponent’s score. It is only because of the 29-year-old QB‘s insane skills that the team even manages to be in postseason conversations.

All that signals the need to invest in the defense and make it good enough so that they can at least stop opposing teams from making it hard on Burrow. If this trend continues into 2026, Schefter believes that the signal caller could think of a life outside of Cincinnati.

Dexter Lawrence could help Joe Burrow stick around with Bengals

Joe Burrow’s threat messages to the Cincinnati Bengals front office may sound entitled to some, but it is clear the quarterback wants the team to focus on the defense. They just lost their best pass-rusher in Trey Hendrickson to a Division rival, and did not have a backup plan in place. The hope was that they would find a suitable prospect with the 10th pick in this draft.

Even though it is loaded with elite defensive talent, even Burrow knew someone coming in from college would need time to develop and perform the way the team wants him to.

Time, unfortunately, is not on the QB’s side. He has started the prime era of his career and does not want it to be wasted on developing players.

That is probably why he wanted the Bengals to trade for Dexter Lawrence. The behemoth of a nose tackle might not be the pass rusher Hendrickson was.

But he sure can alter the way opposing offenses approach the Bengals. That should be enough to put together a good season, which in turn could convince Joe Burrow to stay.

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