Coming off a 6-11 end in 2025 that noticed Joe Burrow restricted to eight video games, the Cincinnati Bengals spent the offseason addressing the roster round their franchise quarterback. The headline transfer got here on April 19, when the staff announced a commerce sending the No. 10 general choose within the 2026 NFL Draft to the New York Giants for defensive sort out Dexter Lawrence.
The abbreviated season for Burrow started with a Grade 3 case of turf toe, suffered within the second quarter of the Bengals’ Week 2 recreation in opposition to Jacksonville, which required surgical procedure and carried a restoration timeline of no less than three months.
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The 29-year-old, the No. 1 general choose within the 2020 NFL draft, nonetheless threw for 1,809 yards and 17 touchdowns, one season after main the NFL in passing yards (4,918) and passing touchdowns (43). This manufacturing has earned him a fan in a single NFL legend particularly.
J.J. Watt was in Cincinnati for Friday’s worldwide pleasant between Burnley FC and FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium, a match the hosts received 3-1. Watt and his spouse Kealia have been minority homeowners of the English membership since May 2023.
Speaking with reporters (by way of FOX19’s Joe Danneman) in a video interview posted to X, Watt made his opinion of Burrow clear. Asked concerning the Lawrence commerce, he stated a staff with a quarterback of Burrow’s caliber at all times has an opportunity within the league and {that a} membership in that place should do all the pieces it could to place the perfect roster round him.
In Watt’s view, the commerce addressed the spot the place Cincinnati wanted probably the most assist, the defensive facet of the ball.
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The 37-year-old additionally spoke about his long-running bond with the town within the interview.
“I feel like I have a kinship with Cincinnati over the years,” Watt stated. “For some reason, the Bengals, the city of Cincinnati and myself have kind of been intertwined kind of my whole career.”
Selected No. 11 general by Houston within the 2011 NFL draft, Watt recorded 114.5 profession sacks and received the AP Defensive Player of the Year award for the 2012, 2014 and 2015 seasons earlier than closing his profession with the Arizona Cardinals.
As for Lawrence, the 28-year-old earned three Pro Bowl picks from 2022 by means of 2024 and a pair of second-team All-Pro honors with him. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo first reported he was touchdown in Cincinnati on the evening of Saturday, April 18.
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While Lawrence recorded simply 0.5 sacks throughout 17 video games in 2025, he had 9 sacks in solely 12 video games in the course of the 2024 season.