The Cincinnati Bengals have changed the fortunes of the franchise with Joe Burrow at quarterback, advancing to the Super Bowl in just Burrow’s second season in the league. Cincinnati went to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1988 season and plan to make more league championship game appearances with Burrow leading the way.
The impressive turnaround in Cincinnati played a major role in the Bengals landing free agents on the offensive line this offseason as the team gears up for another Super Bowl run in the loaded AFC. Burrow played a huge role in revamping Cincinnati’s offensive line, a trend he wants to continue in bringing talent to the franchise.
“That’s something I want to do every year,” Burrow said, via the Bengals website. “I want to make sure the guys we are looking to bring in feel at home in Cincinnati and with the team because that is the culture we are building in the locker room. We are really, really close as a team, coaching staff, players, strength staff, trainers. I just want to portray that to the guys that are thinking about coming here and that we want to sign.”
Burrow was able to wine and dine La’el Collins to Cincinnati as his new right tackle. The Bengals also landed Alex Cappa to play right guard and Ted Karras to play center, rebuilding the entire right side of the offensive line. The Bengals offensive line allowed 19 sacks in the postseason last year, as Burrow was sacked the most by a quarterback in NFL playoff history. Burrow was sacked 70 times last year, the third-most in a single season since the merger.
Burrow certainly did his job in helping the Bengals fix their biggest weakness, a trend that should certainly continue going forward. The Bengals have the star power at quarterback to get players to come to Cincinnati, an asset the franchise hasn’t experienced over the past three decades.
