Given his under-the-radar persona, it’s no surprise that Joe Burrow and the Bengals have mutually agreed to keep their contract talks close to the vest. The Bengals and Burrow’s reps have agreed on a “vow of silence” as the two sides work toward a long-term deal for Cincinnati’s Pro Bowl quarterback.
Given their pact, don’t expect any leaks to come out regarding Burrow’s contract. Furthermore, don’t be surprised if an extension for Burrow is announced without much of a heads-up.
“I don’t know the pace but we hope that there’s something that can get done,” Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn said from the NFL Annual League Meeting, via the team’s website. “We sort of said we won’t talk about it much until there’s something to talk about.”
Blackburn added that the two sides have had preliminary talks on an extension. Burrow has one year remaining on his rookie contract that will carry an $11.5M cap hit in 2023. He’s set to become a free agent in 2025, but is expected to receive a long-term extension before the start of the 2023 season.
The 2022 season was a highly successful one for Burrow, who was selected to his first Pro Bowl after helping the Bengals match the franchise record of 12 regular-season wins. He helped the Bengals win eight consecutive games after the team slogged to a 4-4 start. Burrow was one of five finalists for the 2022 MVP award.
“Fortunately, I don’t have to put that on paper, in terms of what that is,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said of Burrow earlier this offseason when asked about the quarterback’s value, via Pro Football Talk. “That’s just the business we’re in right now. He’s everything we want to be about. He’s a hard worker. He cares about his teammates. He cares about where he’s from — Ohio. This fanbase, I think he represents us the right way.
“And so, we take a lot of pride in having Joe Burrow as our quarterback.”
…..
