The concept of expanding the NFL season to 18 regular season games has been thrust into the limelight recently. The topic has been in the discourse as the perceived next step after the NFL expanded the regular season in 2020 to 17 games, creating an odd number of matchups. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke on a possible 18-game season multiple times leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, which has kept the idea in the news cycle.
Bengals QB Burrow has a unique perspective on the situation, considering he has had to recover from several injuries. Burrow shared his thoughts on Tuesday about the possible regular season expansion.
“Eighteen games is definitely a big ask, that’s not easy,” Burrow said, via WLWT.com. “Adding that extra game, obviously it’d be great for revenue. But I feel like adding that bye week, if you’re going to have an 18 game schedule, is pretty critical for our bodies.
“If you keep that first bye week — some teams have that first bye Week 5, Week 6 — and then you’re going 12, 13 games in a row. That’s not easy,” Burrow said. “Probably a Thursday night game thrown in there, too, That’s never easy. So, those two byes are pretty critical.”
Burrow doubled down on the usual request for an additional bye week and pitched an interesting idea for a mid-season break for all NFL players.
“Maybe you could do something like, the first bye is kind of how we have it now, and the second bye everybody has it at once, and you make it like the Pro Bowl week, like an All-Star break for the NBA,” Burrow said. “I don’t know, people get paid a lot of money to have those discussions and make those decisions.”
Joe Burrow prepares for crucial comeback season with Bengals in 2024
The Cincinnati Bengals will be thrilled to have Joe Burrow back in 2024.
Burrow went down with a wrist injury in Week 11. The injury effectively ended their season and they finished with 9-8, which put them in last place in the AFC North. The team played admirably down the stretch, but it was clear that the entire operation in Cincinnati falls apart without Burrow under center.
As a result, Cincinnati has invested significant resources to ensure that another Burrow injury is less likely. The team re-signed guard Cody Ford and signed tackle Trent Brown during free agency. They also replaced Joe Mixon with 2023 breakout running back Zack Moss and franchise tagged receiver Tee Higgins.
The Bengals kept their foot on the gas in the draft. Cincinnati drafted offensive tackle Amarius Mims in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. They also drafted wide receiver Jermaine Burton in the third round as a Tyler Boyd replacement and added o-line depth in the seventh round with center Matt Lee.
Cincinnati's starting offensive line is projected to be Orlando Brown Jr., Cordell Volson, Ted Karras, Alex Cappa, and Trent Brown. That gives the Bengals a healthy cast of backups including Mims, Ford, Jackson Carman, and others.
Joe Burrow will be playing behind a much improved offensive line in 2024. The offense has plenty of weapons and the defense will remain solid under DC Lou Anarumo.
Bengals fans are expecting huge improvements in 2024. Joe Burrow will do everything in his power to make good on those expectations.
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