Joe Burrow has spent the last few months publicly campaigning for the Cincinnati Bengals to re-sign all of their key contributors over the offseason. Burrow wants to see the Bengals retain the likes of Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Trey Hendrickson and Mike Gesicki moving forward, and who could blame him? Bengals fans want to see that too.
Unfortunately, keeping all of those guys in black-and-orange may be easier said than done, and one recent quote from an NFL general manager casts doubt on Cincinnati's ability to do so. While speaking with Jason La Canfora of The Washington Post, the GM basically said that he expects Burrow to be unhappy with the outcome of the offseason.
NFL GM predicts that Bengals will lose some key contributors this offseason
“Burrow is going to be pissed,” the general manager said. “No way they are keeping more than two of those four.”
Burrow likely won't be the only one "pissed" if that situation plays out, as fans obviously don't want to see the team lose two of Chase, Higgins, Hendrickson and Gesicki, but perhaps they should be prepared for it.
More Cincinnati Bengals news: Joe Burrow wants the Bengals to operate more like the Eagles
The general manager didn't speculate which two of those four players that the Bengals might keep around, but we can try to guess. Coming off of one of the best receiving seasons in recent memory, it seems safe to say that the Bengals will do what it takes to keep Chase in Cincinnati.
A similar line of thinking could be applied to Hendrickson, who led the league in sacks in 2024 and was Cincinnati's best defensive player, by far. Considering how many holes they have on the defensive side of the ball, keeping the one dominant defender they have seems like a wise approach.
So, if the Bengals keep both Chase and Hendrickson, that means that Higgins and Gesicki could both be looking for new homes over the offseason. Gesicki played just a single season in Cincinnati and could be looking to cash in on his productive play, while Higgins leaving the Bengals has been a hot topic for what feels like forever.
Losing two of his three top targets would obviously be a big blow for Burrow, who orchestrated the league's top passing attack last season. In order to avoid that happening, Burrow wants to see the Bengals operate more like the Philadelphia Eagles, who were able to build a stacked roster on both sides of the ball by working the salary cap.
But, just like Bengals fans, Burrow should embrace for disappointment, because this isn't the Eagles we're talking about, it's the Bengals, a team notorious for frugality and questionable front office decisions.