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.
Here’s what he had to say about the Bengals’ quarterback situation:
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.
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.
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:
