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Joe Burrow's burden is clear for 2026 Cincinnati Bengals season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
No one can question Joe Burrow's talent.
The Cincinnati Bengals QB just isn't always on the field to prove to everyone how good he is.
Yep, injuries have been Burrow's undoing more than anything else in his NFL career.
For the Bengals to have a strong 2026 season, it pretty much goes without saying that Burrow needs to stay healthy.
It's not just on the Cincy players around him, either. Burrow has to do a good job of protecting himself, as well.
"The Bengals have had well-documented pass protection issues during Burrow's time in Cincinnati, but he also hasn't always been the best about protecting himself," ESPN's Dan Graziano wrote as part of a new article on Tuesday. "Burrow is surrounded with high-level talent on offense, including the league's best wide receiver tandem in Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. If the defensive additions bring that unit back to respectability and the offense continues to hum, this is a dangerous team. But it's on Burrow to answer the bell for every game."
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Too often, Burrow finds himself out of commission.
In the 2025 season, that meant the Bengals were too often relying on Jake Browning and Joe Flacco to play the most important position in sports instead of Burrow.
"As great as s Burrow is when he's on the field, he has to do a better job of staying there," Graziano writes. "He has missed at least six games due to injury in three of his six NFL seasons. He missed nine last year."
Obviously, everyone in Cincinnati recognizes this. But knowing about a problem isn't the same as fixing it.
For the Bengals to reach their aspirations, they need to solve Burrow's health, because nothing is more important to the outcome of their season than having No. 9 playing QB.
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