It's been frustrating watching the Cincinnati Bengals not live up to their potential the past two years, especially when Joe Burrow was still on his rookie contract. Now the Bengals have to pay him and a lot of other players a whole lot of money.
NFL analyst Dave Dameshek used that as ammunition against Burrow, including the Bengals signal-caller on his list of quarterbacks that have the most to prove in 2025. Dameshek noted that while Burrow has been to a Super Bowl (something the other two quarterbacks on his list haven't), clamoring for everyone to get paid at the expense of the defense could be a "poisonous formula".
"Yeah, I know he's been to a Super Bowl," Dameshek said on his podcast. "I don't know if the defense is going to be one degree better than it was last year. The offense can be as good as it was a year ago. If it doesn't wind up in the playoffs, then Joe Burrow has called for this formula to be applied and it is a poisonous, poisonous formula."
NFL expert argues paying everyone could kill any momentum Bengals hoped to have
The formula Dameshek is alluding to is Burrow wanting the organization to pay all of his guys. Ja'Marr Chase, Mike Gesicki, and Tee Higgins all cashed in and got paid and that probably doesn't happen if Burrow isn't pleading for it to. By signing these three guys, yes, the offense is going to continue to stay electric (assuming Burrow remains healthy) but the defense, which was the problem a year ago, continues to be mostly ignored.
While the recent reports surrounding Trey Hendrickson have bode well for Cincinnati, he's only one guy. The Bengals need a lot of help on that side of the ball and by paying the offensive guys big bucks, it's going to make it difficult to put together a competent defense.
Calling Burrow's formula poisonous seems to be a bit much but if paying everyone ends up backfiring, he'll likely get some heat for pushing it on the front office. The fact of the matter is that the Bengals are too talented to be missing the playoffs entirely. Keeping these weapons for Burrow long-term better lead to bigger results for this team or things could get real rough.