Joe Burrow let his feelings about Bengals personnel matters be known last year, when he offered staunch support for the team extending Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson. The superstar quarterback went 1-for-2 on that front, but the effort did show the power he wields in the building.
Burrow comments about a lack of satisfaction presently raised eyebrows around the league, as the Bengals are wrapping a third straight season that will fall short of the playoffs. While voicing an expectation he’d be part of the 2026 Bengals, Burrow did not shut the door on potentially playing elsewhere down the road. Some took these efforts as Burrow applying pressure on the Bengals, but the heat the QB may or may not be putting on the franchise does not appear to pertain to Zac Taylor.
The seventh-year Cincinnati HC has Burrow’s full support, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Taylor has taken criticism for not having the Bengals ready to play early in seasons, as a host of September losses have hurt in playoff pushes, but he has been at the helm throughout Burrow’s career. Burrow does not appear eager to transition to a new system, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report Taylor is indeed safe for 2026.
Taylor, 42, made the rare jump from the quarterbacks coach level to HC, vaulting from the Rams’ QBs coach to Bengals HC. While Taylor’s first year went poorly, the Bengals timed their faceplant well. The 2-14 season landed them Burrow at No. 1 overall, much to the Dolphins’ chagrin, and he transformed the franchise’s fortunes.
Taylor guided the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI and then had them in the 2022 AFC championship game, where a crucial final-minute late hit helped the Chiefs escape the visitors’ charge. Since then, however, the Bengals have fallen off the AFC’s top tier. Burrow injuries in 2023 and ’25 defined those seasons, but he played throughout 2024 and saw the team’s defensive issues deny a playoff spot.
The Bengals had been expected to neither tinker with their HC or GM roles, with de facto GM Duke Tobin also expected back. While Burrow throwing support behind Taylor is certainly important for the sideline leader’s status, is the passer’s perceived issue with the front office? Tobin has been with Cincinnati since 1999, being an integral part of Mike Brown‘s operation. The Bengals have drifted southward in the NFL hierarchy during the mid-2020s, and Burrow has let it be known he is not exactly thrilled with the way things have gone.
Teams are expected to call the Bengals on Burrow, but that is unlikely to matter much. Burrow is one of the game’s best quarterbacks and plays for an organization known for digging its heels in against player demands. See: the Hendrickson and Shemar Stewart 2025 matters for recent examples. The Bengals remain committed to Burrow, and based on Sunday morning’s classification of Taylor’s status, the head coach has an important backer. But a turnaround will need to come in 2026. Taylor and Tobin will be the ones leading the way yet again.
Big fan of Burrow and love watching him compete. He has that drive and determination to win games. But he needs to keep his mouth shut to the media and stop causing drama, even if his ownership group sucks. Take a lesson from TB12 on what to say on media day. Not getting injured as much wouldn’t hurt either.
As a Steelers fan, I think he’s the best QB in the league when healthy. But I took his comments as a slight kick in the groin to ownership that they need to get a better defense in place more than anything else. Yeah, they improved down the stretch here but they have some work to do. Given their contracts, I have no idea how they get it done
KC had a good run with an evolving team, from an explosive offense to one with a dominant defense. They had the QB to pull it off, as Cincy does. So who knows what Cincy will do? They kept the offensive pieces and can score 30 PPG, but you still lose giving up 34 PPG. I wouldn’t have kept Higgins, you don’t need 2 highly paid WRs in the NFL. Look at what Wandale Robinson did for the NYG, or Jacoby Meyers for JAX. Pair either of them with Chase and your offense still moves the ball. But if you have problems at work you keep them in-house. You don’t go talking to the media about it. All those years of friction in NE between Brady, Kraft, and Belichick, and not a word spoken to the media.
Burrow went from a fun awesome playmaker to a whiney oft injured fashion primadonna in about a minute. Money and fame will do that to you.
Now he can’t decide if he would rather whine or suck up to his boss…lol.
Hey, the guy gave his O-line authentic dinosaur bones. He’s a thoughtful prima donna, if nothing else
Bengals just need to bulk up on D
Draft Peter Woods early to give that line some push
Zac Taylor is not good. The gm maybe worse.
Bengals GM Joe Burrow supports the head coach.