Joe Burrow expressed his frustration at the end of an injury-plagued 2025 season. The Bengals quarterback said he needed to have fun if he was going to keep playing football.
Missing nine games wasn’t fun, and neither was the team missing the postseason for a third consecutive season.
Burrow, though, is satisfied with what the Bengals have done this offseason in attempting to rebuild their defense.
“They’re going to keep getting great players to come play for the Bengals, and when they do that, then it’s my job and Zac’s job and the leaders of this team to bring the locker room together and then go execute on the field,” Burrow said Monday, via Geoff Hobson of the team website. “We have everything we need.
“We made a big trade for a big-time player. Signed a free agent top safety on the market and other additions. We’ll see how the rookies end up. . . . But first impressions, we’ve got guys that care about the game, care about their job, and want to be great. When you have young guys like that and veterans like we do, it’s a recipe for success.”
Burrow pointed specifically to the acquisitions of defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, safety Bryan Cook and edge rusher Jonathan Allen.
“You can feel the vibe and the leadership has changed in the locker room a little bit,” Burrow said. “It’s exciting for everyone.
“B. Cook, in the limited time he’s been here, you can feel his presence early. Dexter, too. A lot of guys on the D-Line now. You have Jonathan Allen. Myles [Murphy] is walking around with a little more pep in his step this year. That’s exciting to see. I think he grew in confidence from the last five, six games. We need to carry that over, and I’m excited to see that.”
The Bengals have seven consecutive 1 p.m. starts to open the season, a first in Burrow’s seven seasons.
“That’s good. When we go on the road, we get back home early and watch more football,” Burrow said. “It’s always beneficial to watch more games. See how teams are playing and what teams are doing. See what defenses are doing.
“We’ll try to get flexed a couple of times into the sweet spot later in the season. Everybody feels like this is going to be an exciting season for us, so now we put in the work over the next several months to put the pieces in place to get to where we want.”