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(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

The Cincinnati Bengals know it’s a deep playoff run or bust, given the moves they have made this offseason and the fact that Joe Burrow remains their quarterback.

Over the offseason, Cincinnati has bolstered its defense, signing Boye Mafe, Jonathan Allen, and Bryan Cook in free agency. Moreover, the Bengals traded a Top 10 pick to the New York Giants for Dexter Lawrence II.

As a result, the Bengals have put all their chips on the table to show Burrow they can build a championship contender around him while he’s still in his prime. Nonetheless, Sports Illustrated’s NFL insider Albert Breer shared his thoughts on Burrow’s future after receiving a question about whether the quarterback will spend his entire career in Cincinnati.

“This sort of question would’ve been preposterous 20 years ago,” Breer wrote in his May 6 mailbag article. “But based on where the NFL is now, and where professional sports are in general, when it comes to player movement, it’s hard to rule out the idea that Joe Burrow could end up elsewhere.

“If you really want to dig into it, I think the most relevant case study for Burrow’s future is Matthew Stafford. Burrow is now 29, and six seasons into his career, having made the playoffs twice, advancing to the AFC title game on both occasions, and reaching the Super Bowl after his second season as a pro.”

Bengals’ Joe Burrow Gets Matthew Stafford Comparison

Moreover, Breer notes that Burrow’s situation reminds him of Matthew Stafford’s during his time with the Detroit Lions. Stafford would eventually be traded from the Lions to the Los Angeles Rams, as the veteran QB sought to win a Super Bowl, which he did at the Bengals’ expense.

“In the offseason, Stafford turned 29 in 2017,” Breer wrote. “He was eight seasons into his NFL career, had made the playoffs three times and lost in the first round each time. He played four more (playoff-less) seasons in Detroit before asking for a trade in January 2021.

“Like Burrow, Stafford had some high-end talent around him on offense in Detroit, but played with only two top-10 defenses, and just four that ranked in the top half of the league over his 12 seasons as a Lion. So there are some similarities, including the fact that both quarterbacks genuinely wanted to be agents of change for the teams that drafted them.

“All this is to say, I don’t think we’re there yet with Burrow. But like Stafford, he badly wants to win, and he won’t be content with coming up short on Lombardi Trophies forever.”

Dexter Lawrence II Doesn’t Hold Back on Joe Burrow

The Lawrence trade is a major move to show Burrow that the team can build a defense that can stop the opposition without needing the offense to be in shootouts to get wins. Lawrence is the headliner for the changes to the defense and recently shared his thoughts on having Burrow as his QB

“You know, for the longest, I’ve been thinking he’s one of the top quarterbacks in the league, if not the top,” Lawrence said in a video on April 19. “It’s going to be fun to share a field with him and to watch him up close, to see how he prepares, how he studies, how he leads guys and gets guys going. I’m excited for that part of it.”