The Cincinnati Bengals plan to spend money this offseason around Joe Burrow.
No great shock there. Duke Tobin implied as much at his rare season-ending presser. And even if fans didn’t want to take him at his word, it was clear the roster wasn’t good enough. Painfully obvious, even, that it needed another injection of smart free-agent adds similar to DJ Reader, Mike Hilton and Trey Hendrickson of prior years.
Also obvious? The front office wouldn’t be distracted by contract drama this offseason. And the ramping up of pressure from Burrow himself is hard to miss, too.
Hence, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport talking on Sunday of the Super Bowl about the Bengals’ offseason plan:
“I do expect the Bengals to take his words and kind of use it to spur them on a little bit to really spend this offseason. Now, Burrow was clear talking during the Pro Bowl. He likes Cincinnati, saying basically during the press conference, he kind of just had a bad day. Those are allowed sometimes even at press conferences, but I expect the Bengals to enhance and support everything Joe Burrow does, to spend probably more on the defense than anything else.”
The Insiders on @NFLGameDay with @JudyBattista, @TomPelissero & @MikeGarafolo: Changes to replay assist are coming; #Dolphins likely to move on from Tua Tagovailoa, plus latest on Tyreek Hill; #Bengals plan to spend to support Burrow; No trade talks yet for #Eagles WR AJ Brown. pic.twitter.com/Nx39oIQWQx
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 8, 2026
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Oh, and Rapoport said that he does “expect teams to call the Cincinnati Bengals” about Burrow’s availability, but that it’s, of course, a non-starter.
When the Bengals spend this offseason, it figures to mostly come on the defensive side of the ball. They need help rushing the passer and on the interior of the line. Safety is a mess, too.
The task in front of the Bengals this offseason isn’t easy. But all signs still point to the team spending notably on outside help in an effort to make sure things get back on track.
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This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Another report hints at Bengals’ offseason plans around Joe Burrow
