The Cincinnati Bengals didn’t hold anything back during the offseason period. They spent big on upgrading their defense and have only about $7.5 million remaining in cap space for the upcoming season. Obviously, it is a “win now” strategy, but it will put the team in a difficult position financially going forward. And of course, all eyes are on Joe Burrow’s contract.

“Those are things that we’re working through after the draft,” Duke Tobin said when asked about Burrow’s contract restructure. “Again, we’re layered in challenges, but we’re up to them. And we do it because we have the opportunity to add the right people and the right players. Those are challenges that the locker room isn’t interested in. They’re interested in having the best team possible. That’s what we’re trying to give them: the best team possible.”

After spending big to rebuild their defense, the Bengals are now dealing with a tighter financial situation. However, the biggest question is whether they will approach Joe Burrow about restructuring his contract, which remains up in the air. For now, nothing is guaranteed, and no promises have been made by the director of player personnel, Tobin.

Earlier this offseason at the Combine in February, Duke Tobin spoke openly about the possibility.

“Cap dollars have to be counted, so if we can accomplish what we want to accomplish without pushing things into future problems, we’ll do that,” Tobin said. “If we need that, we’ll consider that as well. We’re open to doing anything we need to do to improve our team to where we’re satisfied we’re gonna win a championship. But we have resources right now, and we’ll see what we can get done.”

Right now, Burrow is playing under a massive five-year, $275 million extension with Cincinnati. In 2026, he is set to earn a base salary of $25.25 million along with a $10 million signing bonus, and his cap hit will be just under $48 million.

There is no set deadline for making a decision on restructuring his deal. Still, Tobin has made it clear that the team has put itself in a bit of a financial corner after all the recent spending.

A restructure could give Cincinnati some much-needed breathing room, but for now, the team seems content to wait and see how things play out before making any big moves.

Heavy roster spending puts the Bengals in a cap crunch

The Bengals went big this offseason to rebuild their defense, and it came at a cost. They signed Jonathan Allen to a 2-year, $25 million deal, brought in Boye Mafe on a 3-year, $60 million contract, and added Bryan Cook for 3 years at $40.25 million.

On top of that, they traded for Dexter Lawrence II from the New York Giants and quickly signed him to a one-year, $28 million extension. All of these steps have definitely strengthened their defense, but at the same time, they have used up most of the team’s cap space.

Other than that, the Bengals have to decide whether to take their fifth-year option on Myles Murphy. They also have to consider free agency with Dax Hill and DJ Turner II.

This brings us back to Joe Burrow and how his contract may be structured. Restructuring Burrow’s deal could free up cap space by converting salary into a signing bonus, making it easier to keep key players.

Burrow himself has talked about such a move before and seems open to it. He even mentioned last offseason that he would consider restructuring to help keep key players like Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase.

“You could convert some of the money to a signing bonus, which will lower the cap hit,” Burrow said, per ESPN. “You can push some of the money to the back end of the contract. That lowers the cap hit. And then when you get to the back end of the contract, you can restructure it and convert it to a signing bonus. You can also just take less money.”

Given his willingness to help the team keep its core players and improve the defense, it would not be surprising if Burrow is willing to work with the front office again.