The Cincinnati Bengals pulled yet another shocker ahead of the draft by giving away their lucrative 10th overall pick to sign Dexter Lawrence II. The defensive end is 28 years old, and is getting paid quite a hefty amount for the move; even though the deal looks good, there are still chances of it backfiring on the Bengals. But according to an insider, star quarterback Joe Burrow is the one who encouraged the front office to go all-in.

“I was told Joe Burrow is the one calling the shots in Cincinnati,” veteran reporter Dan Patrick said on his show. “From what I’m told, Joe Burrow said to management, ‘You gotta do something defensively, or I’m out of here.’ I was told this morning by a source, who said that Joe has given them an ultimatum.”

Joe Burrow is a big reason why the Bengals have broken free of their losing slump in the late 2010s. And since then, he has grown to be one of the biggest names in the league. Burrow also has eyes set on the final prize, having been to the postseason twice in his six seasons in the NFL. But defensively, the team has not been matching the electric output coming from the quarterback.

The Bengals were ranked 31st in total defense, giving up an average of 233.8 yards through the air and an embarrassing 147.1 yards on the ground. The defensive show has been consistently bad for some time now, and it’s now starting to get to Burrow. If his work is being undone by the defense, he’s got to take a stance. To make matters worse, they lost defensive end Trey Hendrickson, one of the few good players on this side of the ball.

That’s why Cincinnati has been prioritizing defense in the offseason. They have signed Boye Mafe and Jonathan Allen. The only urgent need for them right now is a linebacker, which they have left for the draft. But getting Dexter Lawrence II was a huge statement for the team, the kind that Burrow wanted them to take. ESPN’s Adam Schefter said that the team is “[trying] to win this year to keep Joe Burrow happy.”

Lawrence is coming off a bad season last year. But it can safely be assumed as a blip in his career. In 2024, while Hendrickson led the league in sacks, Lawrence had the 8th-best pass rush grade. His run-stop win rate was not among the top 10, but he was still used exhaustively for double-teaming. Without him, the Giants might have finished worse than they did in 2025.

“The Giants’ 28th-ranked defense and 26th-ranked scoring defense would have fallen even further without Lawrence trying to fight through midseason firings at head coach and defensive coordinator as well as a personnel deficit that may not have set the group up for success,” Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein wrote.

Now, with the Cincinnati Bengals bringing in Dexter Lawrence to appease Joe Burrow, the goal for the upcoming season should be a Super Bowl. It’s also something their new defensive star agrees with.

Lawrence sets sights on the Super Bowl after the Bengals trade

Ahead of the 2026 draft, reports of Dexter Lawrence demanding a trade after being unhappy with the New York Giants made the rounds. The biggest reason behind this decision was that the Giants went 7-27 over the past two years, and a player of Lawrence’s caliber was wasting years of his prime at a losing franchise. Lawrence is now locked in on going the extra mile with his new team.

“I’m ecstatic,” he said. “To be on this team with Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, to be back with Tee (Higgins) again, Chase Brown … I told Tee, ‘We’ve got some unfinished business.’ … That’s obviously our goal. Winning the Super Bowl.”

Moreover, he had seen how the Giants fell out with former teammates Saquon Barkley and Leonard Williams when it came to their contracts. Both of them then went on to win Super Bowls in their new homes. Lawrence was getting antsy and was looking for a new contract way ahead of the 2025 season. At Cincinnati, with a quarterback like Joe Burrow, he is also looking to replicate the same success in his career.