Though this season brings fresh hope for the Cincinnati Bengals, not many expect them to win. Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr did not include the Bengals in his list of 14 teams that could win the Super Bowl this season. And if that prediction comes true, Cincinnati might have to bid goodbye to quarterback Joe Burrow.

“If they don’t make it, they’re going to have a threshold decision in Cincinnati that is going to be, you either let Joe Burrow run the show, pick the coach, pick the GM, like let him be in charge of crafting how the rest of his career goes forward, or he’s going to want to leave,” Mike Florio said on Pro Football Talk.

“I know the Bengals fans don’t want to hear that. But Carson Palmer, after eight years, he decided, ‘I’m never going to do anything here. Time to get out.’ … This is year seven for [Burrow]. If more than half of your career is no playoffs, playoffs, there’s going to be a change.” 

Palmer said he would retire if the Bengals refused to trade him away; things were that dire. At the time, the team had produced only two winning seasons in the previous 20 years. The Bengals struck gold in the 2020 draft with Joe Burrow, who has now become the face of the team.

The star quarterback took the Bengals to the Super Bowl in only his second-ever season in the league. The Bengals would return to the postseason in 2022 as well. But since then, the franchise has not recorded more than nine wins in a season. It’s an unfortunate reality for a quarterback of Burrow’s caliber.

He hasn’t been shy about his disappointment. As the Bengals hurtled toward despair last year, Burrow expressed that it’s simply moving the needle for him

“If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it,” he said in 2025. “I’ve been through a lot. If it’s not fun, then what am I doing it for?”

At the same time, Joe Burrow has also advocated for change within the team.

“We don’t want to be in the spot we are in now, so something’s got to change,” Burrow said last year. “Whether it’s players we have continuing to improve and get better and play championship-caliber football or bringing in guys that will or whatever it may be. Obviously, something has to [change].”

If Joe Burrow is out of the equation for the Bengals, they can practically kiss their Super Bowl dreams goodbye. Probably to protect these odds, the team has been open to his input on front office decisions. Burrow was kept “in the loop” when the team drafted Ja’Marr Chase in 2021. And the quarterback has been vocal in his support for players who make a difference, like Tee Higgins.

Insider Dan Patrick claimed that Burrow reportedly forced the Bengals to make big moves for their troubling defense, or he would be “out of here.” Last year, the defense finished 30th in points allowed.

In came veteran defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, for whom the Bengals sacrificed their 10th overall pick in this year’s draft.

That said, Burrow is confident the Bengals will make a strong impression this season.

“We have everything we need in that locker room,” he said in May. “We just got to go and make it happen.”

All Burrow needs is the team to come through to feature in the postseason.