After Bengals’ restructure of Joe Burrow’s contract, is another big move in the offing?

CINCINNATI — Never in the Cincinnati Bengals’ history had they restructured a player’s contract to push money into future years. Never in the Bengals’ history had they traded a first-round pick for a player.

Times are changing in Cincinnati.

Following their March trade for star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, the Bengals reworked quarterback Joe Burrow’s contract Tuesday to create $10 million in cap space.

Burrow said himself at the conclusion of last season that the organization needed to operate differently to break the skid of three consecutive seasons of playoff-less football. Through both actions and words after this restructure, the relationship between the Bengals and Burrow appears to be in excellent shape entering an all-in 2026 season.

“The front office has taken a lot of heat from the fans, the public, the media,” Burrow said last month. “We can put all of that behind us. They went and made it happen.”

So, what will they make happen next?

With Burrow’s cap number for 2026 dropping from $48 million to $38 million, the Bengals now have approximately $16 million in cap space, ranking 20th in the NFL, according to Over The Cap’s estimates.

The Bengals could have taken a $19.5 million chunk out of Burrow’s contract this year, but the partial restructure limited the outlay through the end of his contract in 2029. There have been seven other quarterback contract restructures this offseason. Five of them took the maximum possible (Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott, Josh Allen), and two were also partial restructures (Baker Mayfield, Jared Goff).

If targeting another big move was in play, the Bengals likely would have gone for a larger chunk. However, this organization became much harder to predict this offseason compared to generations spent refusing to pull specific levers, so nothing is impossible anymore. That said, another significant move feels unlikely.

The Bengals now find themselves back in a position they have operated in previous seasons. That means more moves could come, even some that make headlines, but probably nothing that would take a big chunk out of the cap.

Last year, the Bengals signed tight end Noah Fant, guard Dalton Risner and traded for quarterback Joe Flacco after the offseason ended. Fant signed for just shy of $3 million; Risner was near the minimum; and the Bengals gave up a fifth-round pick while paying Flacco $1.9 million.

While those weren’t big deals, they were impactful.

Those are the types of moves, be it a free-agent addition or trade, that align with where the Bengals are right now. The team is looking, as always, and has space available now if the right fit becomes available. Injuries and underperformance in training camp can start conversations with other teams and players, but right now, depth options must be considered at linebacker, cornerback and swing tackle.

Not only do the Bengals need to concern themselves with additions, but they also have four key extension-eligible players who could finalize deals that require dipping into the money freed up by the Burrow restructure.

Chief among those would be top cornerback DJ Turner, with defensive end Myles Murphy, cornerback Dax Hill and running back Chase Brown also in the conversation.

All four have been in attendance during OTAs and are fully participating.

Lastly, the Bengals have traditionally rolled over cap space to the next season while also allocating a portion, before the year, to practice squad elevations, injury contingencies and reserves. Those are all part of the new math calibrated on Tuesday.

Each of these options feels much more like a reality now, thanks to the team breaking organizational precedent.

The Burrow restructure means the Bengals are not done yet, but the idea of another surprising splash coming isn’t quite the reality of the decision. This merely restored breathing room for a typical slate of transactions they have executed once minicamp concludes.