Carson Palmer isn't confident that the Bengals will invest around Joe Burrow
The Cincinnati Bengals just went on a run to the Super Bowl on the back of star quarterback Joe Burrow. Cincinnati ultimately lost to the Los Angeles Rams, but the Bengals inspired a lot of optimism within the team after this strong season. Now, the Bengals are in a prime position to continue adding to the roster next season. Former Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer believes that the Bengals are in a great spot to make a big splash in free agency, but said that the first priority should be taking care of the offensive line to protect Burrow.
Burrow is still on his rookie contract, but even with a new and likely massive contract on the way in a couple of the years, Palmer believes that the Bengals can still easily make things work while also adding significant talent to the current roster.
“It was just a magnificent games for all of us fans and Cincinnati fans,” Palmer began. “To come in as underdogs and somebody that people didn’t really give a shot or give a chance to, they hung in there, they had the lead. This team is here to stay. With a great offseason ahead of them with $60 million to spend in free agency, some players they’re probably going to retain, and they could make a really big splash in free agency.
“They’ve got to shore up that offensive line. There’s a bunch of vets, a bunch of guys. Terron Armstead of the New Orleans Saints is a great tackle. Brandon Scherff is a great guard of the Washington Commanders. There’s a bunch of guys out there to go and get. This is an opportunity to really build. They have a four or five-year window here. They’ve got Joe Burrow on a rookie deal, he’s probably going to sign a massive contract in 2024. So they can attack free agency right now and shore up that offensive line, give him some help, give him some support, and still be prepared for his contract that’s coming up in a couple years.”
Palmer isn’t confident that the Bengals will ‘do right’ by Burrow
Even though the Bengals have a ton of cap space, it isn’t a guarantee that they will use it all. But Palmer believes that they should. When asked about his confidence in the Burrows “doing right by Joe Burrow,” Palmer said that he doesn’t have a ton.
“Not a lot,” Palmer said when asked how much confidence he has in the Bengals doing right by Joe Burrow. “I just look at history, and history says they’re happy with where they’re at and they’re going to sit pat. But again, the way things are structure right now with the salary cap and free agency, they can go and be super aggressive.
“I mean Von Miller is a free agent. They could use another pass rusher, a third down specialist. Chandler Jones is out there, another great, veteran defensive end. They can go out and attack free agency because what they’re going to do with Joe’s contract, they can sign him in 2024 to a long term deal and backload a ton of the money so they still have room in 2024 for the vets they can sign right now in 2022.”
Palmer played seven years in Cincinnati after being taken first overall in 2003. But he knows as well as anybody that if the Bengals don’t solve some of their issues around Burrow, it is going to hurt him down the road.