Joe Burrow is arguably the most talented QB in the league.
Joe Flacco is a former Super Bowl MVP who still has a lot of life left in his arm.
Yet somehow, _The Ringer_’s Diante Lee thinks those two are only the 10th-best QB room in the NFL, behind even that of the Chicago Bears.
> Burrow is an established postseason force, but he hasn’t ever seriously factored into the MVP or All-Pro conversation. And after three consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs (including two in which Burrow suffered injuries), it’s fair to wonder whether he’ll deliver a return on his current $275 million deal.
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> Cincinnati’s backup plan is confusing. The Bengals have wisely put veteran pocket passers behind Burrow, himself a pocket passer, for the sake of scheme continuity, but the 41-year-old Flacco no longer provides much upside. He was a sack and turnover machine at times last season. And Cincinnati’s third quarterback, 40-year-old Josh Johnson, puts the “journey” in journeyman. Flacco’s $6 million salary is a huge overpay relative to his performance on the field, and the $1.5 million for Johnson’s veteran minimum deal could’ve been spent on a younger, more interesting developmental option that the Bengals could keep behind Burrow long term.
You can read his entire piece [here](https://www.theringer.com/2026/09/09/nfl/ranking-nfl-quarterback-rooms-2026-new-england-patriots-drake-maye-cleveland-browns-deshaun-watson-shedeur-sanders).
Burrow, of course, doesn’t have time to worry about arbitrary rankings. He’s completely focused on a Week 1 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
We previewed that game with FOX Sports’ Greg Auman below:
See More:
* [Cincinnati Bengals Analysis](/cincinnati-bengals-analysis)