It's difficult to articulate the disappointment of the Cincinnati Bengals' past few seasons. Joe Burrow has suffered two major injuries, the defense was mostly abominable, and no, complementary football is still not a thing under head coach Zac Taylor.
All indications are that the Bengals are ready to run it back with Duke Tobin in charge of personnel and Taylor leading the coaching staff. That's all well and good, but if next season comes and goes and it's no playoffs for a fourth straight year, trust that major change will indeed transpire.
That was the not-so-subtle hint Burrow dropped after Sunday's 20-18 loss to the Browns in Cincinnati. One of several hints of Joe Brrr's dissatisfaction with the organization.
Joe Burrow labels Bengals offseason 'as big as it gets'
Talk about a mic drop moment. Asked how significant the next eight months are for Cincinnati to snap the ongoing postseason drought, Burrow simply responded, "as big as it gets" before getting up from the podium.
Joe Burrow's final comments of the 2025 season
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) January 4, 2026
-On whether the organization is matching his championship mindset
-On free agency this March being "of paramount importance"
-Emotions of a 6-11 season
-On 2026 in Cincinnati being "as big as it gets" pic.twitter.com/E1fNo2WSBw
Burrow expressed hope that the rest of the organization matched his championship mindset, and also emphasized how vital free agency will be to improving the team. You know, if the Bengals actually spend enough there.
This will be its own separate article at some point, because let's face it, we have a loooooong offseason ahead of us, y'all. But just a little something to bear in mind:
As the offseason approaches you're going to hear about how much money the Bengals spend or don't spend. Don't be fooled by cap-based reporting!
— Jake Liscow (@JakeLiscow) January 3, 2026
Here's where they ranked in cash spending the last 5 years (per Spotrac)
2025 - 22nd
2024 - 19th
2023 - 19th
2022 - 30th
2021 - 23rd
Would you call that going all-in on your elite franchise quarterback's Super Bowl window? I sure wouldn't! That's a pathetic effort if I've ever seen one.
So with these next eight months being "as big as it gets", what will Cincinnati do differently? My current answer is "not much." Because that's just how this franchise operates.
The frustrating thing is, the defense started playing better as the season wound down, but a lot of that improvement came when games no longer mattered, and in the last three games in particular, opponents played a whole bunch of backups.
Like cool, I'm so happy for the Bengals remembering how to play defense against opposing QBs like Quinn Ewers, Jacoby Brissett, and Shedeur Sanders. Congrats, fellas. Way to BALL!
You know what I'm saying? An upgrade over Geno Stone at safety is a great place to start, and a veteran addition/actual high-end starter at linebacker would go a long way to turning this Bengals ship around.
The AFC North is so gettable right now. What a shame it'd be to see another conservative offseason, especially with Burrow being so adamant about how big it is. Think I'd listen to him, lest he become angry and ask for a trade later on!