Ben BabyMar 31, 2026, 07:05 PM

CloseBen Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN’s NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).

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PHOENIX — Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor wasn’t watching when Joe Burrow lunged, dived and streaked down the field in a flag football exhibition on March 21. He was in Oklahoma City watching Nebraska, his alma mater, narrowly beat Vanderbilt in the opening round of the men’s NCAA tournament. That prevented him from wincing when Burrow did anything that put him in harm’s way at the Fanatics Flag Football Classic in Los Angeles.

“I pretended like it wasn’t happening until it was over,” Taylor said. “So thankful we got through it and we’re good, and we’ll just move forward and get ready for our season now.”

Bengals fans love Burrow’s competitiveness, but they may not share his fearlessness, especially when it comes to the risk of injury. But the event was another example of both sides of Burrow’s competitiveness and desire to compete.

“If Joe’s going to do something, he’s going to go all out and do it, he’s going to try to win, and that’s why we should love him,” Taylor said on Tuesday at the annual league meeting.

The franchise quarterback has missed 22 regular-season games due to injury throughout his career, including nine to turf toe last season as the Bengals missed the playoffs for the third straight year. It was the third time in six NFL seasons that Burrow went on injured reserve with a major injury. Burrow was one of three active NFL quarterbacks who participated in the game, joining Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts and Washington’s Jayden Daniels. But Burrow was the one who drew attention as he tried to elude defenders in the flag football game.

Joe Burrow has been put on the injured list with major injuries in three of his six seasons, but he only knows one way to compete — all out. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images for OBB Media

Going into the game, the major concern was that Burrow might end up playing defense because of the lack of defenders on the roster. That was off limits, Taylor said inside the Arizona Biltmore hotel in Phoenix. But Taylor, who gave his blessing for Burrow to compete, should have known that Burrow was going to be very involved.

“To see [Burrow] going out for some routes and stuff, I should have known that’s how that was going to play out,” Taylor said.

Burrow’s desire to compete has been noted. Over the years, the two-time MVP finalist has pushed to play in preseason games, especially when coming back from significant injuries. And as he went through this offseason following another injury-filled season, he had talks with the front office about his plans.

“Sometimes they’re about football, and sometimes they’re about other opportunities he might be having that he wants to visit on and talk about or ask permission for or whatever,” Bengals executive Duke Tobin said in February at the NFL combine. “He’s good to work with, and I find it enjoyable when I get to visit with him.”

Another thing worth noting is Burrow’s desires to play in the upcoming 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, where flag football will make its debut. As soon as the event was announced, Burrow told ESPN that he’d love the opportunity to represent Team USA.

“When this got announced, I was pretty excited about it,” Burrow said at a panel ahead at the Fanatics event. “The opportunity to win a gold medal, I’ve thought about a moment like that for a long time, since I was a kid. I think it would be something very special.”

“Joe Burrow just took a hit in flag football” man this is a normal Saturday occurrence in your average church league, that’s not a hit
pic.twitter.com/PwbOmPWWrt

— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) March 21, 2026

On Tuesday, Taylor also noted Burrow’s desire to carry the torch for the NFL as a whole. One day earlier, the NFL announced that it will launch a new men’s and women’s flag football league. And Burrow has placed himself in the forefront of that endeavor. When asked if Burrow’s potential participation was now in question after the recent exhibition, Taylor used his favorite phrase when pushing discussion down the road.

“That sounds like a future Zac problem,” Taylor said. “So we’ll let future Zac handle that problem.”

The Bengals and Burrow will be judged on what happens during a pivotal 2026 season. The team’s ownership, which did not speak to reporters at league meetings but is expected to field questions later in the offseason, put out a statement supporting both Taylor and Tobin after a disappointing year.

Burrow’s health and performance are paramount to Cincinnati’s success. And while everyone was breathing easy after he left Los Angeles unscathed, it was also a reminder of the desire that has fueled him to be one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks and Cincinnati’s best shot of being a relevant franchise again.

“Unless I say no, he’s going to go out there and he’s (going to) compete to the highest abilities, Taylor said. “And I shouldn’t be surprised when I see him out there trying to dive across the goal line and score touchdowns.”