Cincy Jungle
It’s no secret that the Cincinnati Bengals have championship aspirations this season. How seriously the rest of the NFL world is taking those hopes can be debated, but count Joe Burrow as one who is dead set on making it happen.
After what ended up becoming the final day of minicamp, Burrow addressed the media about the weeks and months ahead. And, while the Bengals’ franchise quarterback has often spoken about lofty expectations for Cincinnati, Wednesday’s sentiments centered around another historic team No. 9 once engineered.
“I want everybody talking about the Bengals,” Burrow said. “You can go back and watch press conferences and what I said before the 2019 season at LSU—I feel very similarly about this team.”
Those 2019 Tigers were arguably the best team in College Football history. LSU won the National Championship that year, as Burrow secured the Heisman Trophy for one of the best statistical seasons by an NCAA quarterback. That specific team put forth a slew of high draft picks in the next couple of NFL Drafts, and has produced some of the best pros in the league today—including Burrow and fellow LSU wide receiver, Ja’Marr Chase.
A few weeks back, Burrow shared similar sentiments, noting that this year’s Bengals team is the most talented he’s been around since joining them in 2020. It appears he’s doubling down on that sentiment with the minicamp’s early conclusion this Wednesday.
Of course, Burrow is pointing at the myriad of offseason moves made by the team this spring. Adding Boye Mafe, Bryan Cook, Kyle Dugger, and others in free agency, landing Dexter Lawrence II in a blockbuster trade, and adding an intriguing draft class have grabbed Burrow’s attention.
Another element to this spring and summer that isn’t being overtly mentioned is the lack of “drama” within the club. Contract holdouts and other situations that once permeated Bengals headlines the past couple of seasons are in the past, while this club and its new additions appear to be hyper-focused on winning Super Bowl LXI.
