Joe Burrow confident Bengals will contend for Super Bowl in 2024

The Bengals roster is going to look very different in 2024.

This offseason, Cincinnati traded running back Joe Mixon to the Texans and lost several key players, including right tackle Jonah Williams (Cardinals), defensive tackle D.J. Reader (Lions) and cornerback Chidobe Awuzie (Titans), in free agency. 

Wide receiver Tyler Boyd also remains a free agent while wide receiver Tee Higgins' trade request is still looming.

However, QB Joe Burrow still believes the Bengals can pick up right where they left off — contending for a Super Bowl — before he suffered a season-ending wrist injury in Week 11 of last season.

"We know we have the right people in place to reach our goals," Burrow said via the team's website. "It's just about putting all those pieces together and finding our roles to optimize what we can do."

Cincinnati has been able to fill most of its holes with the likes of running back Zack Moss, tight end Mike Gesicki, right tackle Trent Brown, defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins and safety Geno Stone.

If the team were to move on from Higgins on top of Boyd's likely departure, however, it would leave major question marks on the offensive side of the ball.

Burrow's job would then be to raise the level of play of those around him, especially after the Bengals made him the highest-paid player in NFL history on an annual basis with an average salary of $55 million per year.

Cincinnati will likely add another playmaker before the start of the season if that ends up being the case, but luckily for the team, the 2024 NFL Draft is rich with wide receiver talent.

For now, Burrow is solely focused on returning to full health, but he remains confident he'll be ready to go when it matters and have the Bengals ready to contend for a Super Bowl after falling short of one just a couple of years ago.

"I'm doing the rehab every day," Burrow added. "I've been able to pretty much do everything I normally do from a lifting and conditioning standpoint. I'm in a great spot body-wise."