The Cincinnati Bengals are on a fast track to return to the playoffs in 2026 after adding loads of talent in free agency, on the trade market, and by way of the NFL Draft. According to ESPN's Dan Orlovsky, that puts a lot of pressure on Joe Burrow to deliver.
Does it, though? Burrow has all but begged, on public record, for the organization to, you know, do something to help him out. Joe Brrr isn't one to call out teammates or make excuses, but anyone with eyeballs can see what's gone wrong in Cincinnati.
Yes, injuries have kept piling up on Burrow over the years. When he has played, he's proven he's still elite beyond a shadow of a doubt.
So let's dive into what Orlovsky said in praising the Bengals, but also how off he was on the implications for their face of the franchise.
Dan Orlovsky mistakenly suggests Joe Burrow is under pressure after Bengals' all-in offseason
In a compelling segment on ESPN's Get Up, Orlovsky touted the Bengals as massive offseason winners, and rightfully so. Things went a little off the rails once he dove into the impact it has on Burrow in particular (h/t Chatterbox Sports):
"I think they have improved as much as any football team in the NFL this offseason. [...] This is the most complete football team that Joe Burrow has had since that Super Bowl run...in 2021. We know the offense is going to be great. We know the defense is much improved...A lot of pressure on Joe Burrow to go get it done this year. At least the next two years."
Orlovsky also referenced the Eagles' Jalen Hurts as another star quarterback who's facing a lot of pressure this year, as there are questions around his future in Philly and Burrow's in Cincinnati.
Those situations are wildly different to me, but let's just focus on the Burrow-Bengals of it all.
Unless we're out here blaming players for rotten injury luck, nothing about Cincinnati's misfortunes amid three straight missed playoff appearances should be pinned on Joe Burrow. Until last season — not before he was seriously injured again in Week 2 — the Bengals didn't have a good offensive line. That has, at long last, been resolved.
Even when Burrow was getting pummeled during his MVP-caliber 2024 campaign, and being put in so many obvious passing situations due to how atrocious the defense was, he still led the NFL in passing yards and passing TDs. Again, he wasn't the problem. The defense let the whole team and fanbase down.
You'd have thought the Bengals would take upgrading that unit more seriously netting 2025. Wasn't the case.
The front office used extensions for Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins as a convenient excuse to not spend more on the open market. Cincinnati took an irresponsible flier on a complete and utter project of a first-round pick in Shemar Stewart. Duke Tobin and Co. waited until the 11th hour to sign Dalton Risner in August, which ultimately doomed Burrow to that bummer of a turf toe injury.
We all saw what happened from there. Stewart was a non-factor. The defense somehow got worse. The team went 6-11. Something had to change.
To their credit, the Bengals appear to have indeed changed their ways.
They capitalized on having that unusually-high 10th overall pick to trade for All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence. They spent big in free agency, albeit with stupid contract structures, but I've said my piece on that many times over.
This offseason isn't so much about the "pressure" on Joe Burrow now that Cincinnati might have a competent defense for once. It's not about the implicit expectations attached to that hopeful reality. It's not some added, dreaded, extra weight on Joe Shiesty.
No. This offseason represents a sort of unbridled catharsis. A primal, mascot-apropos, tiger-esque scream/roar of, "FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
If we the fans have suffered and let the Bengals' passivity of offseasons past eat at our mental health more than is recommended, just imagine what Joe Burrow has felt behind closed doors. While he's toiled away to recover from major injuries. While, even when "healthy", has dragged himself out of bed after another Sunday of getting battered, and often losing.
No wonder football wasn't feeling as fun for him in 2025.
Dan Patrick reported that Burrow gave the front office an ultimatum. Like a, "do something, or I'm leaving" sort of deal. Whether true or not, that's nothing but a positive in the bigger picture.
Because yeah, Cincinnati's brass needed to do something. And they finally have and then some.
So no, Dan-O. Joe Burrow isn't under extra pressure. He has been dying for an opportunity like this. For the Bengals to spend to the salary cap hilt to fix that despicable defense. To finally have adequate pass protection for a sustained period of time.
This is the moment, the offseason, the all-in aggression, the top-down organizational buy-in to go all-in for a Super Bowl that Burrow has waited his entire football life for.
Burrow holds himself to a championship standard. Always has. Always will. It's the Bengals franchise that has collectively failed to meet him there. Now that they have, Orlovsky can trust that Burrow will relish this opportunity and, not just the fan bias speaking here, I would not put it past him to deliver that long-awaited Lombardi Trophy to the Queen City come February.
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