Cincinnati Bengals
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A former Bengals player gave his thoughts on Burrow and the team
After a Super Bowl appearance during the 2021 season, the Cincinnati Bengals seemed poised for a decade of success with their young core of players. They followed that with an AFC Championship appearance during the 2022 season. However, since then, things have taken a turn for the worse as the team has now missed the postseason in three consecutive seasons.
Fresh off their worst season since 2020 as the Bengals went 6-11, Cincinnati has been criticized by some for what they feel is wasting the career of Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow. Now, formerCincinnati Bengals All-Pro left tackle Andrew Whitworth has given his thoughtson the team in an interview with Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Andrew Whitworth Holds Nothing Back On Cincinnati Bengals
Whitworth, who spent 11 seasons with the Bengals prior to joining the Rams, was asked to give his thoughts on the Bengals and what has been holding them back from achieving the success they had in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Whitworth said, “I think for them health has been a factor. Obviously, you can’t change a lot of that. There’s also been things where you say, defensively, it’s been a struggle,” He added, “I think the biggest problem has probably been not being able to bring in the kind of guys that draft well. A franchise like Cincinnati, let’s be real with each other, they’re not going to live in a trade world, (they’re not) going to overpay guys. So guess what? You’re going to have to draft well. And when you don’t, the whole entire team suffers, and it’s been a problem.”
Upon being asked to elaborate, Whitworth told Conway, “You want to make moves that are significant. Everyone in the building is like, it’s go time. That, to me, is what I’m looking for. My point is that now here you are in another window where you’ve got some young talent on the team, don’t let it go by and not shoot your shot. Shooting your shot is not paying guys that have been there, that have proven that they earned money. Shooting a shot is like, this is something that seems a little risky, and we’re putting ourselves out there, but it’s what we think gets us over the hump.”
Whitworth’s Comments on Joe Burrow
As Whitworth mentioned, health has been a factor for the Bengals lack of recent success. Head coach Zac Taylor also attributed injuries to why the Bengals failed to meet expectations in 2025,as he previously said, “I think what you were missing was your highest-paid player on offense and defense, and that’s challenging holistically.”
Conway also asked Whitworth to give his thoughts on Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who Whitworth did not play with, but did play in the Super Bowl against him. Conway compared Burrow’s career to former Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, who did not achieve playoff success in Cincinnati and requested a trade, and asked Whitworth whether Burrow might potentially follow a similar path.
Whitworth responded, “I think any player who is wired the right way in the NFL wants to win, and they want to win championships. I can understand the frustration and just feeling like you never get over the hump. If you want to eliminate some of those frustrations, I think sometimes the best way to do that is show that you’re in it too, and you’re willing to swing big and do some things that are risky.”