Aug 11, 2026, 12:45 PM ET

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said that quarterback Joe Burrow will play against the Detroit Lions in the team's preseason opener on Thursday, per Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer. Burrow will also be out there with his top two receivers in Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, although they will probably only stay in the game for a couple of offensive series, at the most. The 29-year-old Burrow and the Bengals offense got off to a bit of a slow start in training camp, but they have been coming alive of late and figure to be in good shape for the 2026 season as long as Burrow stays healthy. The three-time Pro Bowler played in a career-low eight games last year due to turf toe, throwing for 1,809 yards, 17 touchdowns, and five interceptions a year after leading the NFL in passing yards (4,918), touchdown passes (43), completions (460), and pass attempts (652). He's an obvious bounce-back candidate in 2026 with top-five QB upside in fantasy football, even though most of his production comes solely from his arm.--Keith Hernandez
Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer - Kelsey Conway

Aug 10, 2026, 9:45 PM ET

The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. wrote that the Cincinnati Bengals offense bounced back in training camp practice on Sunday by posting two scores, and quarterback Joe Burrow "still looked like himself with touchdowns to receivers Tee Higgins and Andrei Iosivas." The Bengals' offense has "started to show their teeth" with more unscripted periods in practice, which began on Friday in the new stadium with a bomb from Burrow to All-Pro receiver Ja'Marr Chase. Big moments like that for the Bengals' offense have "become increasingly more frequent" after the defense had mostly dominated early in camp. Burrow looks to be at full health this summer and set for another big year leading Cincy's offense in his seventh year in the NFL. The 29-year-old former first overall pick from LSU is the highest-ranked fantasy QB who doesn't have a high-end rushing skill set. Burrow makes up for it with a strong arm, precision passing, and one of the best WR duos in the league in Chase and Higgins. He's ranked as RotoBaller's No. 5 fantasy signal-caller for the 2026 campaign.--Keith Hernandez
Source: The Athletic - Paul Dehner Jr.

Aug 3, 2026, 3:31 PM ET

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow carries more injury risk than most players in his tier, but that should not scare off a Superflex contender. He missed nine games after undergoing surgery for a Grade 3 turf toe injury in 2025, then came back in Week 13 and threw for 1,620 yards and 15 touchdowns over the final six games. There were a few rough moments, including a scoreless loss to Baltimore, but the arm talent was still obvious. Burrow had led the NFL with 4,918 yards and 43 touchdown passes the year before, and Cincinnati has kept the offense around him intact. Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are back, Chase Brown caught 69 passes last season, and all five starting offensive linemen return. Burrow does not offer the rushing floor of Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, or Jayden Daniels, so another injury would be especially costly at his price. That is the tradeoff. RotoBaller ranks him QB6 in dynasty, and he still belongs in that tier. Contenders searching for a quarterback who can win weeks through passing volume should be willing to pay, provided the deal does not leave the rest of the roster too thin.--Bruno Mulé
Source: RotoBaller

Jul 18, 2026, 9:26 AM ET

In an era where rushing quarterbacks rule the day, Cincinnati Bengals signal-caller Joe Burrow is one of the few true pocket passers still capable of delivering a QB1 finish. While he is not totally incapable of scrambling to move the chains, his 257 rushing yards in 2022 remain a career high, while his five rushing scores from that same season also look to be a bit of an outlier. Meanwhile, in his three healthy seasons, he's averaged 4,668 yards and 37 touchdowns through the air, twice finishing as a top-four fantasy quarterback. Obviously, those three healthy years only account for half of his career, with durability being his biggest knock since tearing his ACL as a rookie and missing at least seven games in two subsequent seasons. However, when things are going right in Cincinnati, as they appear to be heading into 2026, Burrow remains one of the elite fantasy difference-makers, and he enters his age-30 season as RotoBaller's QB5.--Patrick McGrath
Source: RotoBaller

Jun 25, 2026, 12:32 PM ET

As the Cincinnati Bengals and offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher figure out how to become more explosive on offense in 2026, they are experimenting with using quarterback Joe Burrow more under center, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. The top-five teams in usage of under-center and under-center play action in 2025 all finished in the top quarter of the league in explosive-play rate. Burrow has produced just one explosive completion while using under-center play action in the last three seasons. The 29-year-old three-time Pro Bowler has been working on under-center play-action drops during the offseason program, and he's made it clear that he's on board with tinkering in this realm. Cincy posted 0.16 EPA per play on plays with Burrow, and receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on the field the last two years, which was the best in the NFL by a wide margin. But the Bengals ranked 22nd in explosive-play rate in 2025, a fourth straight season in the bottom third of the league. Burrow played in a career-low eight games last year due to injury after passing for a league-high 4,918 yards and league-high 43 touchdowns in 2024. A bounce-back seems inevitable if he can stay on the field in 2026, especially if the Bengals offense can find more explosive plays. RotoBaller has Burrow ranked as the No. 5 fantasy QB.--Keith Hernandez
Source: The Athletic - Paul Dehner Jr.

Jun 21, 2026, 3:13 PM ET

Since being selected first overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, only injuries have been able to slow Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Over his past 25 starts, Burrow has averaged 2.4 touchdown passes per game, and in a fantasy space largely dominated by quarterback mobility, he is one of the few players who can routinely challenge for a QB1 finish on arm talent alone. While the notable improvements made to a Bengals defense that ranked among the worst in the league could put him in more favorable game scripts and ultimately lower his ceiling, Burrow comes into 2026 healthy and still surrounded by one of the NFL's premier pass-catching units. Burrow is RotoBaller's QB5, but if the Bengals offense can stay intact in a way that it has rarely been able to do in recent years, he is as safe a bet as any to lead the league in touchdown passes and could easily outperform ADP.--Patrick McGrath
Source: RotoBaller

Jun 20, 2026, 9:14 AM ET

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco began his 2025 campaign with the Cleveland Browns, and through four starts, he threw six interceptions to only two touchdowns, scored fewer than 5.3 fantasy points per game, and looked as if his time in the NFL was coming to an end. Following a rare in-division mid-season trade, he started six games for the Bengals in place of an injured Joe Burrow and immediately became a viable fantasy option while elevating the entire Cincinnati offense. He finished as the QB7 or better in three of those games, and in signing a one-year deal this offseason to return to the Bengals, he remains a must-roster backup in superflex dynasty leagues and raises the floor of receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, as well as running back Chase Brown. With Joe Burrow RotoBaller's QB5 for 2026, any appearance by Flacco still represents a worst-case scenario, but at 41 years old, the 19-year veteran is more than capable of preventing a complete bottoming out if called into action.--Patrick McGrath
Source: RotoBaller

Jun 9, 2026, 4:00 PM ET

The Cincinnati Bengals restructured the contract of quarterback Joe Burrow on Tuesday, creating $10 million in salary cap space, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. The move was due in part to the cash needed for the trade that landed the Bengals defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence this offseason. The 29-year-old QB has four years left on his five-year, $275 million deal that he signed in September of 2023. Burrow, a three-time Pro Bowler, only played in eight games in 2025 in his sixth year in the NFL, a major disappointment after he led the NFL in attempts (652), completions (460), passing yards (4,918), touchdowns (43), and yards per game (289.3) in 2024. He doesn't have the dual-threat abilities of some of the other elite names at the position, but what Burrow lacks in rushing skills, he makes up for with his arm strength and precision as a passer, and he has one of the best WR corps in the league with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins as his top-two receivers. Burrow is a high-risk/high-reward midrange QB1 target in fantasy football drafts for the 2026 season, and he's currently ranked as RotoBaller's QB5.--Keith Hernandez
Source: ESPN - Adam Schefter

May 28, 2026, 2:10 PM ET

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is one of the best pure passers in the NFL, but persistent injuries have capped his fantasy upside and raised some questions about his long-term dynasty outlook. Burrow has played 10 or fewer games in two of the last three seasons. Last year, he was healthy for just eight games, as he totaled 1,809 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, and five interceptions. Those are great results on a per-game basis, but he ultimately let down many of his fantasy managers as they were forced to pivot to other quarterbacks when he got hurt. A healthy Burrow can be a top-five dynasty quarterback. After all, he was QB4 or higher in each of the two years where he played all 17 games. However, the injury concern is valid, and it has resulted in him falling to QB6 in RotoBaller's dynasty rankings. He's still a high-upside dynasty quarterback, but he has fallen out of the top three tiers.--Andersen Pickard
Source: RotoBaller

May 26, 2026, 9:16 AM ET

Cincinnati Bengals backup quarterback Joe Flacco stepped immediately into the starting role in 2025 after a rare in-division mid-season trade from the Browns, turning in three fantasy finishes as the QB7 or better across his six starts, all while learning a brand new playbook on the fly. With Flacco signing a one-year deal to return to the team this offseason, a better grasp on the system and one of the best surrounding casts in the league should allow him to thrive if called upon again in 2026. Perhaps more importantly for fantasy, his presence boosts the worst-case scenario floors of Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown should three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow miss significant time again. With Burrow shelved early in 2025 with a serious turf toe injury, all three saw their production plummet with Jake Browning under center, but rebounded nicely following the trade for Flacco. At 41 years old, his remaining time in the league is limited, but at RotoBaller's dynasty QB46, Flacco's cost to acquire is significantly lower than any other player with such a clear path to week-winning production.--Patrick McGrath
Source: RotoBaller