Bengals News: Joe Burrow’s evolution

Posted by Admin September 9, 2026 NFL

The 2026 NFL season kicks off Wednesday evening as we will be treated to a rematch of Super Bowl LX a day earlier than typical—and we still get a Thursday night game!

This also means the Cincinnati Bengals will take the field in just a few short days at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bengals are contenders, and much of that is because they have one of the best quarterbacks in the business, Joe Burrow.

Burrow, who will be 30 in December, recently sat down with Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson, and we got to see a little glimpse into the quarterback’s evolving locker room role.

“I’ve been pushed to do that in the past,” he said about being the loud voice in the locker room. “Not necessarily here, but just in my football life. I’ve tried it before, and it’s not really for me. But as I’ve grown and matured, I just think you have to be able to do it at some points, and you can’t be so bad at it when you have to do it.”

Hopefully his presence as a leader is one of the things that helps push the Bengals into another deep playoff run.

Here’s what else is going on:

Zac Taylor has message about Bengals’ history of slow starts

“Our guys are ready to go,” Taylor said. “Now we’ll spend the last five days here ironing it out … so they can go and help us be 1-0 to start the season.”

The Bengals have never lost a game in which they played with their orange jerseys and white pants combos. We knew they were going to “open in orange,” but they’ve ditched the orange pants in favor of white ones. Is it superstitious? Considering the Bengals got beat by the Patriots in their home owner in 2024, and that Patriots team went on to win just two more games, I’m willing to accept some superstitious behavior.

Cody Ford worked out for the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday. Ford was cut by the Bengals earlier in August after a disastrous second preseason game with the Bengals. He was originally selected in the second round by the Bills in the 2019 NFL Draft, and he spent the last three seasons playing pretty much every position on the line, other than center, over the last three seasons.

Bengals reveal new game day menu with diverse options

Oktoberfest-themed items, which have been popular in previous years, are also making a return, including a schnitzel sandwich and Texas-style smoked sausage. Other unique offerings include eggroll burgers and Thai-style pork belly, along with a variety of desserts for those craving something sweet.