Adamant Burrow in it for 'long haul' with Bengals

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  Ben BabySep 8, 2026, 06:14 PM ET

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  Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).

CINCINNATI -- Five days before his season opener, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow affirmed his desire to remain in stripes.

In an interview with the team's website, Burrow expressed that he wants to stay with the club for the foreseeable future. Since he returned from a turf toe injury in late 2025, there has been outside speculation about whether Burrow wanted to remain with the Bengals despite the lack of success in recent years.

"I'm here for the long haul," Burrow told Bengals.com. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm just trying to bring a now-or-never mentality to the day-by-day process. If you're not, what are you doing? Attack the day with a championship mindset. The rest will take care of itself."

In the interview published on Tuesday, one day before Burrow meets with reporters to discuss the team's opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the seventh-year quarterback referenced earlier comments made this summer. Following the joint practice against the Chicago Bears on Aug. 20, Burrow was asked why he has been so vocal this offseason about his championship aspirations for this year's team.

Burrow said he wanted to not only try to speak it into existence but also instill the sense of urgency needed to make the Bengals a contender again. In follow-up question, Burrow was asked if he was treating 2026 like a "now or never" season, to which he agreed. "That's how I'm treating it, for sure."

In the report published by the team on Tuesday, Burrow acknowledged his comments can leave some wiggle room. "I'm efficient with my words, and when I'm efficient with my words, that leaves some room for interpretation," Burrow said.

But the objective for the Bengals has been clear all offseason. After a 6-11 season in 2025, Cincinnati missed the playoffs for the third straight year. That drought preceded one of the best stretches in franchise history.

In 2021, Burrow's second season in the league, the Bengals won their first playoff game since Jan. 1991 and made the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance in 33 seasons. Cincinnati lost the game to the Los Angeles Rams, 23-20. The Bengals made another deep playoff run the following season but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of the previous year's AFC championship game.

This offseason, the Bengals' front office overhauled a maligned defense in hopes of returning to those heights. In addition to signing defensive end Boye Mafe and safety Bryan Cook in free agency, the team traded for Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II. Those moves, coupled with their play in training camp and the preseason, have bolstered confidence heading into a pivotal season for Burrow and the Bengals.

"I feel energized right now," said eighth-year coach Zac Taylor on Monday. "Our guys are ready to go. We feel like we have a good plan in place."