Cincinnati Bengals team president Mike Brown, like everyone else, heard quarterback Joe Burrow say he wants to remain with the team for the entirety of his career.
As expected, Brown wants that just as much as anyone else — and he knows what it will take to make it happen.
Appearing on the team’s radio broadcast before Cincinnati’s wild card win over the Baltimore Ravens, Brown acknowledged the tightrope act of paying a top quarterback and maintaining a competitive roster around the quarterback.
“He’s going to have a long career,” Brown said, according to ESPN’s Ben Baby. “We certainly want it to be here. I think his window will extend over his whole career. But there is the fact that when you don’t have to pay the quarterback some extraordinary amount, that leaves room to pay other players more and, therefore, you can keep more players that are good players.”
Brown often cites the deal Kansas City gave Patrick Mahomes, likely due to the rolling guarantees that make it more sensible for the team, yet still pays a top-three passer as such.
The Bengals can discuss an extension with Burrow this offseason and it’s no secret the team would like to get it done that early. Doing so would get some of the cash hit out of the way before needing to think about guys like Ja’Marr Chase, who is eligible in 2024.
But big names like Tee Higgins and Logan Wilson are also eligible for extensions this offseason and Jessie Bates, Germaine Pratt, Vonn Bell and Hayden Hurst, among others, are scheduled to be free agents.
The Bengals have already declared their rollover cap amount and will boast one of the highest free cap numbers in the league this offseason, but the task before the front office is immense.
