Dexter Lawrence came to Cincinnati to help fix the defense, but he’s also become one of Joe Burrow’s loudest believers.
The Bengals paid a steep price to land the three-time Pro Bowler, sending the 10th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to the New York Giants. The idea was simple: add a dominant interior force who could change the look of the defense.
Lawrence has that reputation after seven seasons as one of the league’s top defensive tackles. But in Cincinnati, he’s also taken on a different role - one that comes with a whisper to Burrow before games.
“I always whisper in his ear and say, ‘Be legendary, be a legend,” Lawrence admitted. “That’s who you are, and you don’t have to go outside yourself. Just be you, and that’s what he does.’”
That kind of message lands differently coming from a player with Lawrence’s résumé, and it says plenty about how he views Burrow. The quarterback has kept backing it up, too.
After tossing five touchdown passes and scoring the winner on the ground in overtime against Tennessee, Burrow added three more passing touchdowns and another rushing score in Sunday’s 34-17 win over Atlanta in Madrid. That result pushed Cincinnati’s winning streak to four games.
Through eight games, Burrow is tracking toward a season that would sit in rare company. His current pace projects to about 5,070 passing yards and 49 touchdown passes over a full 17-game schedule. Only Peyton Manning in 2013 and Patrick Mahomes in 2018 have ever reached 5,000 passing yards and 50 touchdowns in a season.
Lawrence was brought in to help the Bengals win by tightening up the defense. But his comments make clear he sees the bigger picture, too: a quarterback who doesn’t need to be anything other than exactly who he is.
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Ebiketies status with the Eagles created the kind of compensatory-pick wrinkle teams spend months trying to avoid, and the Bengals ultimately decided the cost was too steep. As a result, Cincinnati will not land Ebiketie and is unlikely to chase any player who came off the board as a compensatory free agent this offseason. For a team still looking to strengthen its pass rush, it is another reminder that roster-building is not always about what a player costs today, but what he might cost later. [Read more 🡒]
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The wrinkle is that Cincinnati may not be alone in the chase. In a mock trade scenario, the Bengals were outbid by Buffalo, which put together a more appealing package for Hooker, leaving the door open for another team to swoop in before the deadline. For the Bengals, the question is whether they see enough urgency to push harder for a player who could address a clear need, or whether they let one of the leagues more obvious defensive fits go elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]