The 2020 NFL draft saw the Cincinnati Bengals draft their franchise quarterback selecting Joe Burrow from LSU to start their official rebuild. Burrow was working towards breaking rookie records until he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in week ten against the Washington Football Team.
Now the rebuild that looked like they had a good start has halted. How long will the Bengals rebuild take? When will Burrow be ready to play again?
Key to the Bengals rebuild
The question everyone is waiting to see answered is when will Burrow return? Will he be the same right away whether he starts week one or not? Remember this. Once again he won’t have any training or workouts with the team. He will be coming in cold whereas everyone else will get their training in.
The COVID-19 pandemic canceled official offseason training for all NFL teams in 2020. Burrow had a great rookie season, but now he will have to come in without training and come off of a long rehab from the ACL tear.
Why Bengals might have a longer rebuild
The uncertainty of the start date Burrow might give false hope to another free agent period with purpose. It is obvious Cincinnati will have to pay a huge chunk of money to sign free-agent guard Joe Thuney. The Bengals will be able to be active in free agency due to their excessive cap space.
Cincinnati would like to fill other holes on its roster with additional free agent acquisitions but they might have to pay a lot higher prices since Burrow’s appeal is in question.
The Cincinnati Bengals expect to have leverage with cap space and the ability to offer OL for the Patriots Joe Thuney to play close to home. #NFL
— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) February 28, 2021
Players won’t want to play long term for the Bengals without knowing what the franchise player will be doing. If Burrow never got hurt, free agents would flock to Cincinnati to be a part of something special. Cincinnati still has something special but it is on a delay.
Expect the Bengals to be all in on Thuney. They are also likely to want to save their money for next season. Owner Mike Brown doesn’t want to overpay offensive linemen and they will want a lot more to play in Cincinnati.
Conclusion of Bengals rebuild
The Bengals rebuild could last about three to four more seasons before they become extremely competitive. This is only due to the uncertainty of Burrow. Free agents will not be flocking to Cincinnati like they would have if Burrow never got hurt. Don’t be disappointed if the Bengals are not active in free agency.
If the Bengals are aggressive signing offensive linemen expect one-year deals and slightly overplaying players to come over. This rebuild relies heavily on Burrow. If Burrow can stay healthy he can show the free agents who sign with Cincinnati that there is something special then they will want to stay.