ESPN Names 2024 'Pivotal Year' For Joe Burrow

Cincinnati is hoping for a fully healthy season from their star signal-caller.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow speaks to the media during a press conference on the first day of the off season for the Bengals at Paycor Stadium on Monday January 8, 2024 / Phil Didion/The Enquirer / USA TODAY

CINCINNATI — ESPN's Dan Graziano broke down the players that will shape the NFL landscape over the next year and Joe Burrow made the list.

Cincinnati has cracked the AFC Championship Game in every season he's finished.

"It's absolutely a pivotal year for Burrow," Graziano wrote. "He has played four NFL seasons. One ended with him and the Bengals in the Super Bowl. One ended in a close AFC Championship Game loss in Kansas City. And the other two ended early because of injury (and in those two, the Bengals missed the playoffs). Cincinnati managed to finish 9-8 last season even though Burrow missed the final seven games with an unusual right wrist injury that required a surgical repair. If he's back and fully healthy, there's no reason to think Cincinnati can't take advantage of its lighter schedule (from finishing last in its division in 2023) and return to the top of the AFC North. 

"But given the uncertainty around his injury and the fact that something always seems to get in the way of Burrow's training camp schedule and season preparation, he's worth keeping an eye on. Burrow once famously said the Bengals' championship window is 'my whole career,' but with key stars Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson playing out the final years of their contracts, 2024 is a massive year for this particular group of Bengals to cash in on its promise. It feels like the Bengals' chances of doing that rely significantly on Burrow coming back from his injury and avoiding another."

The financial crunch gets tighter and tighter for Cincinnati as Joe Burrow's extension kicks in throughout the rest of the decade.

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