lev radin / Shutterstock.com
Joe Burrow has everything it takes to win a Super Bowl. The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback has proven that repeatedly – but a championship still hasn’t come his way. Injuries have derailed some of his best seasons, and when he’s stayed healthy, the roster around him hasn’t always held up its end of the bargain.
Burrow isn’t buying that excuse this time around, though.
Speaking ahead of the 2026 season, he made a bold claim – that this year’s Bengals squad is “the most talented roster that we’ve had since I’ve been here.” That’s a statement worth sitting with for a moment, especially coming from a quarterback who took Cincinnati to the Super Bowl in 2021 and the AFC Championship Game the following year.
#Bengals QB Joe Burrow says this team is the most talented roster they’ve had since he entered the NFL, and that includes the team that made the Super Bowl in 2021.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 20, 2026
Burrow also said throwing 48 TDs, which would break the all-time franchise record, is “doable.”
(🎥 @Bengals) pic.twitter.com/Za7jF8xl2H
There’s one significant hole the team needs to fill, though. Pass rusher Trey Hendrickson is gone, having left in free agency to join the division-rival Baltimore Ravens after contract extension talks with Cincinnati broke down last season. Losing your best pass rusher to a division rival stings – there’s no way around it.
Burrow says he wasn’t surprised.
When asked about Hendrickson’s move to Baltimore, he shrugged it off as just “how [Hendrickson] operates.” Whether that reflects genuine indifference or quiet confidence in what the Bengals are building, the front office didn’t wait around to find out.
Cincinnati responded with one of the bolder moves of the offseason – trading for New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. It’s an aggressive swing at replacing the production Hendrickson took with him to Baltimore, and a signal that the Bengals aren’t treating this offseason as a rebuilding exercise.
Whether Lawrence can fill that void is still an open question. What isn’t in question is Burrow’s ability – when he’s on the field and healthy, he gives any team a real shot at going all the way. The Bengals have built around that belief, and if this roster really is as strong as their quarterback thinks it is, they could be a genuine contender.
The only thing standing between Burrow and a title at this point might just be staying on the field long enough to get there.
