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Carson Palmer recently earned the ire of a portion of the Cincinnati Bengals fanbase again with his comments about Joe Burrow and the team.
While Palmer was strong in his praise for Burrow and director of player personnel Duke Tobin, he also noted that during his time with the team he felt like the entire organization wasn’t all-in on trying to win a Super Bowl.
Agree or not, the Bengals have since modernized in several ways and boosted themselves to the playoffs multiple times immediately after the front office shipped Palmer out of town.
And now comes the true test — how the Bengals build and sustain around a probable No. 1 pick like Burrow.
Rookie quarterback contracts are a golden zone for contention in today’s NFL. The cheap cost there means more money invested elsewhere. That means not only possible playoff contention and more, but also ups the chances of that rookie quarterback succeeding at the pro level.
So starting in March when free agency nears, we’ll see just how right or wrong Palmer really is. With Andy Dalton’s bloated contract presumably out the door and plenty of cap space to work with, the Bengals have the opportunity to add one or more serious upgrades at areas of need in free agency.
Similar story with their own. Do they pay up or tag to keep A.J. Green, who could play a decisive role in Burrow’s pro fate? Do they iron out extensions for guys like Joe Mixon?
On the trade front, do they aggressively shop Dalton to the highest bidder for a fair return?
Or is this another offseason of little outside spending, making questionable free-agent deals (Bobby Hart, Preston Brown) and only relying on the draft to fix things, all while sitting on plenty of cap space and rolling a gaudy amount over to next year?
Burrow wants to play for a team all-in on winning a Super Bowl. Cincinnati’s approach between now and the draft could speak volumes about the message it sends to not only Burrow, but fans.
And while this isn’t advocating for a big splash merely for the sake of a big splash, if the manta is merely more of the same after a two-win season and making a new head coach inherit most of his predecessor’s roster, it’s not necessarily a good sign.
The only thing that can prove guys like Palmer and the greater national outlook wrong is change. Turning to Zac Taylor was a start. But after last season showed it wasn’t even close to enough, this offseason will speak volumes.
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