Joe Burrow: Bengals “have to attack [free agency] with intent to get better”

Joe Burrow has made it clear that, while he doesn’t want Zac Taylor or Duke Tobin fired, he wants the Cincinnati Bengals’ front office to seriously try to make the team competitive again.

On Sunday, James Rapien brought up the role free agent signings played in the Bengals’ success in 2021 and 2022 and asked the QB how important he thinks that is for the organization.

“Yeah, that’s of paramount importance,” Burrow responded. “You have to identify where you’re weak and figure out a way to be strong in that area. That’s the NFL year in and year out. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn’t. But you have to attack that period with intent to get better.”

That’s a pretty clear message to a front office that is doing damage control right now, trying to convince fans that this time things will be different.

We still have to see if Mike Brown and Katie Blackburn are worried enough about selling tickets to give out the kinds of guarantees that successful franchises do.