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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow trying to make a play during an NFL game against the New York Jets.

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he Cincinnati Bengals are going full steam ahead in 2026. Missing the playoffs for three years straight and counting, the Bengals are eager to return to being Super Bowl contenders and return to the playoffs. Fielding a roster full of big name stars such as Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and others, the Bengals are doing everything they can to get everything out of those guys while they are in the prime of their careers.

And for the last few seasons, the Bengals have been plagued with inconsistent defensive play, with last year’s team near the bottom of the league in several categories. This offseason, the Bengals made sure to address their issues, bringing in players such as Dexter Lawrence from the New York Giants. 2026 is a pivotal year for the Bengals and during a sit down with Vanity Fair magazine early this week, Burrow commented on the team’s moves and is excited for the team’s direction heading into the year.

Burrow Comments on the Moves

The Bengals started 2025 off strong, going 2-0 and squashing the notion that they start seasons slow. But the dominoes quickly fell, especially once Burrow injured his toe and was out all the way until Thanksgiving. The defense struggled to close out games and gave up the most amount of points of any team, forcing the Bengals to rethink their strategy. But after adding Lawrence along with Jonathan Allen, Boye Mafe and Bryan Cook, the Bengals defense on paper is much better, giving guys like Burrow confidence that they can take that next step.

“I’m really excited about the moves we made this offseason,” Burrow said to Vanity Fair. “We need to get better, so it was exciting to see the initiative from everybody in the organization to realize that we’re in this exciting stage. We’re in our primes playing great football. Finding guys like Dexter and Bryan Cook … to, you know, really solidify that defense so the young guys can also kind of rise up. We’re really going to try to achieve what we want to achieve.”

Burrow is fully healthy again and the rest of the team is locked in, so if the defense is as good as advertised, expect a major jump from the Bengals.

The Rest of the Bengals’ Offseason

While the Bengals loaded up on defense, the offense remains mostly unchanged. But offensively, the Bengals continued to shine last year when Burrow was healthy, ranked 17th in the league overall only because of the struggles displayed when Burrow was hurt. Acquiring Joe Flacco in a trade with the Cleveland Browns midseason, the Bengals offense got better with him under center in Burrow’s place, keeping them firmly in the playoff race. Unfortunately, the defense let them down.