Monster Bengals offseason clears way to punt on big Joe Burrow decision

How many different ways can it be said? The Cincinnati Bengals absolutely cleaned up this offseason. From a proactive free agency, to the Dexter Lawrence trade, to scoring some good value in the draft, the front office did everything possible to appease Joe Burrow.

That's not meant to be a backhanded compliment to the powers that be, nor is it a slight toward Burrow as some sort of diva. It was what needed to happen and has needed to happen for this franchise but never really has until now.

One move that could push the Bengals' chips even more all-in for 2026 apparently isn't in the cards, though. It's not anywhere near as disappointing to hear that now, as opposed to the start of the offseason.

Bengals have reportedly had no conversations about Joe Burrow contract restructure

WLWT Cincinnati sports director Charlie Clifford reports that, according to a source, the Bengals have not broached the topic of a contract restructure with Burrow.

For those who believe the team should rest on its laurels, and that fans should take solace in the fact that the organization made a commendable, radical shift in its team-building approach, here's a rebuttal from Clifford:

"If a veteran linebacker, nickel corner, or swing tackle available in free agency or via trade is deemed to be 'the right player' to add ahead of the regular season, the ball could be squarely in team ownership's court: Trigger a Burrow restructure to pull it off or roll with who is already in the building for the long haul this season. In March, Kansas City reportedly cleared north of $43M in cap space this season by reworking Patrick Mahomes' deal. The same goes for Baltimore and Lamar Jackson ($40M in reported 2026 cap savings), Detroit and Jared Goff ($32M), and, to a lesser degree, Buffalo and Josh Allen ($12M)."

I've advocated for a Burrow contract restructure ad nauseam. In fact, I thought not doing it at the dawn of the offseason was a colossal mistake and limited spending upside in free agency.

Turns out, the total steal of a contract the Bengals got in the Lawrence trade, and the minimal cost to retain incumbent starters in right guard Dalton Risner and nickelback Jalen Davis, allowed for enough room to acceptably improve the roster.

But things like Boye Mafe's contract structure continue to linger as irksome.

Then again, the Bengals do have multiple key free agents coming up in 2027: cornerbacks DJ Turner and Dax Hill, the aforementioned Risner and Davis, WR3 Andrei Iosivas, starting safety Jordan Battle, center Ted Karras, and running back Chase Brown. Front-loading Mafe's contract is a little easier to digest in that context.

I suspect Karras and Risner are likely to leave, replaced by 2026 draft picks in Connor Lew and Brian Parker II respectively. Iosivas may find more money on the open market and flee. Cincinnati may not be inclined to pay a chunk of change for him with so many funds committed to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

Anyway, bottom line is, the Bengals have $39 million in estimated 2027 cap space, per OverTheCap.com. Restructuring Burrow's contract next offseason creates $20.8 million in extra cap room.

It's also possible that Cincinnati opts to restructure Chase ($18.2 million in savings) or Higgins ($11.5 million) in a year's time. Shoot, a Mafe restructure would open up about $7.3 million to work with.

Many avenues for the Bengals to pursue. They ought to focus on retaining Turner and Hill, since they share an agent and have flashed the potential to be one of the NFL's premier boundary CB tandems. Anyone else, I don't really care. Like yeah, if Chase Brown keeps balling, it'd be dope to keep him, but he's not some first-team All-Pro guy, ya know?

Assuming Burrow gets that 2027 restructure, Cincinnati's cap room suddenly goes up to $62.1 million. Oh, and let's say Chase gets restructured in '28, and right tackle Amarius Mims' fifth-year option (call it $19 million) gets picked up. That'll make for $99.8 million in 2028 cap space, with honestly zero other must-keep free agents.

Yes, the Super Bowl window is Joe Burrow's whole career, but let's be real: These next three seasons are when the Bengals can really make some noise. And who knows? Maybe an unprecedented contract restructure is in the cards. Burrow is on public record saying he's up for it if it helps.

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