The Facts: Now that Burrow has completed his third season, he’s eligible for a contract extension. The Bengals will surely pick up his fifth-year option in the spring — unless they sign him to a lofty contract extension first. Either way, it stands to reason that Burrow will receive some financial security before the start of the 2023 regular season. “Yeah, I think that starts now internally,” head coach Zac Taylor said in his Monday press conference when asked about Burrow being eligible for a second contract. “And so, again, just wrapped up with the team today. And as you go forward, you get a chance to start talking about Joe and all the other players who are up.”

Diehards Line: The No. 1 overall pick of the 2020 draft, Burrow has certainly lived up to the lofty expectations that come with being selected first overall. He brought the Bengals to the Super Bowl last season and Cincinnati was a part of the NFL’s final four in 2022. Taylor was also asked how he’d quantify Burrow’s value to the franchise. “Fortunately, I don’t have to put that on paper, in terms of what that is,” Taylor said. “That’s just the business we’re in right now. He’s everything we want to be about. He’s a hard worker. He cares about his teammates. He cares about where he’s from — Ohio. This fanbase, I think he represents us the right way. And so, we take a lot of pride in having Joe Burrow as our quarterback. ...” In 2022, Burrow completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 4,475 yards with 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 16 games. The Bengals are 24-17-1 in games Burrow has started since he entered the league in 2020.