Joe Burrow Narrowly Cracks Top Tier of NFL Quarterbacks During 2026 Offseason
Joe Burrow Narrowly Cracks Top Tier of NFL Quarterbacks During 2026 Offseason
Cincinnati is trying to put the best team possible around him.Russell Heltman|
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Cincinnati BengalsQuarterback rankings from plenty of outlets are flowing out this offseason as NFL teams prepare for the start of training camps at the end of the month. CBS Sports' Bryan DeArdo took a stab at tiering all 32 starters this week, and Joe Burrow just made the cut in the top tier.
DeArdo essentially ranked the Bengals' top player fifth among all quarterbacks behind Matthew Stafford, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson.
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The 29-year-old played in just eight games last season, passing for 1,809 yards, 17 touchdowns, and five interceptions on a 66.8% completion rate.
"Burrow is probably as good as the aforementioned players, but injuries prevented him from receiving similar accolades. Now healthy, Burrow has lofty goals for himself and his team in 2026," DeArdo wrote.
He made those heights clear to the media before the end of Minicamp last month.
The former national champion at LSU compared this Bengals roster to the title talent he had during his final season down south in 2019.
"I think that's great," Burrow said about the rising pressure this offseason. "Put pressure on guys. I love it. I thrive in it. We'll find out who else does. I know that we have the kind of people who want to be in that spot. I want everybody talking about the Bengals.
"I want everybody talking about what I'm saying in my press conferences. You go back and watch what I said before the 2019 season at LSU. I feel very similarly about this team. I'm so excited to get started and get moving, and I wish we could ramp this right into training camp so we can continue to improve, because I feel like there's so much greatness we're going to achieve this year. I'm just excited to get going."
The urgency is as high as it's ever been in the Bengals locker room.
A Super Bowl victory run like Burrow envisions would likely shoot him up to arguably the best quarterback in the NFL, especially if he does the rare double dip of an MVP and Super Bowl in one season.
Stafford didn't quite pull that off this past winter, but he already had the Super Bowl, and the 2025 MVP season jolted him to the top of this list.
"A lot of urgency this year," Burrow continued. "Certainly, we have everything we need. We're deep at just about every single position on the team. We've talked in the locker room this year. You wonder who's going to make the team, you wonder about the bottom guys.
"There's a lot of competition at those spots on the roster at the end of that list. So this is the first year that is really the case, in my opinion. Exciting place to be when you have too many good players, so it's our job to try to find a way to make this a cohesive unit, and like I said before, build that trust and build those relationships, so we can go out and execute."
Check out the full tiering here as the NFL's most accurate passer tries to reel in the top spot this coming season.
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RUSSELL HELTMANRuss Heltman is on the Bearcats and Bengals beat for On SI. He is the morning host and producer for 89.3 WMKV in Cincinnati, OH. Russ can be found on Twitter: @RussHeltman11 or you can reach him by email at [email protected].
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The Myles Garrett trade could become the turning point Browns fans never expected
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The Cleveland Browns are not expected to be world-beaters this season. Odds currently have them with an over-under of 6.5 wins in 2026, a projection that places them 25th in a three-way tie with the Falcons and the Raiders. And, honestly? Browns fans deserve better. It's been a long time in the dumps. Far too long.
While the Myles Garrett trade certainly stings - condolences to all - there's a very real scenario where it proves to be the catalyst for a turnaround of epic proportions in Northeast Ohio. The benefits of moving on from the single greatest defender (and possibly player) in franchise history are always going to feel like wishful thinking. There's no reason to let that cloud logic, however.
AdvertisementAdvertisementBy accepting their fate as a team not ready to contend in the present, the Browns have done wonders for their future. They've also increased their bites at the draft apple, a significant feat at a time when there is no shortage of teams aching for a franchise quarterback.
The Browns have a golden opportunity after the Myles Garrett trade
In a realistic scenario, there could be as many as eight teams in dire need of a franchise quarterback in 2027. That doesn't even include fringe teams or the yearly wildcard team that decides to move on from a tenured starter. In a crowded race, a sensible strategy to increase your chances of coming out victorious is to load up on horses.
The Browns did precisely that when they agreed to a trade that netted them first-, second-, and third-round picks over the next three years, in addition to budding star EDGE rusher Jared Verse. This haul has a chance to turn the Browns' fortunes around sooner than keeping Myles Garrett would have, and it's precisely what has ESPN's Seth Walder singing Cleveland's praises.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"It has been awfully bleak in Cleveland the past couple of seasons, but the decision to trade away a franchise icon could be what jump-starts a turnaround ... This was an unquestioned home run for Cleveland. Garrett is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and just broke thesingle season sack record, but he is 30 years old, and the Browns are not close to contention. By the time they get there, Garrett will be well into his decline."
"Verse, who still has two years left on his rookie contract (plus a possible fifth-year option), will cost Cleveland just about $5 million over the next two seasons. He's a great, ascending player who would have surely been worth more than a first-round pick on the trade market, perhaps even approaching two first-rounders. To turn Garrett - whose superstardom was worth less to the woebegone Browns than to any contender - into Verse and picks that can help build the next good Cleveland roster is solid team-building."
While Walder doesn't explicitly address the quarterback dilemma here, rest assured that it has loomed large on the Browns' radar, and specifically general manager Andrew Berry's. In an offseason about hedging bets, Berry wasn't about to go into the season with all his chips on a Shedeur Sanders breakout or Deshaun Watson flipping the space-time continuum on its head.
This move proved that, while that duo will have a chance in 2026, Berry will remain flexible and open to the possibility of drafting a signal-caller to usher in a new era in 2027. If the Browns are not bad enough to "earn" the top draft choice organically, the additional draft ammo they collected in the Garrett trade places them firmly second (behind the truly lowly New York Jets) among QB-needy teams in terms of draft capital.
AdvertisementAdvertisementIt's responsible. Browns fans aren't necessarily used to that from this franchise, which should make it a welcome change in Cleveland. While the good guys might be taking their lumps in the interim, the future is bright in Cleveland. All it takes to see it is the right lens.
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This article was originally published on www.dawgpounddaily.com as The Myles Garrett trade could become the turning point Browns fans never expected.
Son stabbed father sitting in recliner, then jumped over his dying body to leave
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Inset: Damian Eiffert in court. Background: The Wash. home where Damian Eiffert murdered his father (KREM/YouTube).
A Washington state man is headed to prison after plunging a steak knife into his father's neck, head and chest while he was lounging in a recliner.
Damian Eiffert, 40, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his father, Robert Eiffert, 61. The younger Eiffert was sentenced Thursday to 21 years in prison by a Spokane County Superior Court judge. He had nearly a dozen felony convictions at the time of his arrest in 2024.
"On October 22nd, 2024, at 2:29pm SPD responded to the area of Thor and 1st Avenue in East Spokane on a report of a stabbing," the Spokane Police Department said in a press release announcing Eiffert's arrest. "Upon arriving, a male victim was located with stab wounds. Despite lifesaving efforts by medical professionals, the victim succumbed to his injuries at the scene."
Eiffert's arrest affidavit says he asked his father "for a ride to treatment but he said no," according to local CBS affiliate KREM. Robert Eiffert, aka "Boby," was sitting in his recliner when Damian Eiffert got "amped up" and stabbed him repeatedly.
"The defendant stated he could not take his dad anymore and stabbed him to death," KREM reported.
Sign up for the Law&Crime Daily Newsletter for more breaking news and updatesAccording to police, Damian Eiffert admitted to smoking methamphetamine and being ill from opioid withdrawal at the time of the slaying. His mother told investigators he was "all over the place" during a phone call with her shortly after the murder.
Damian Eiffert also called his ex-girlfriend after the killing and asked her to meet him in a nearby alley, later telling her, "I love you … I'm done. …I just killed my dad," according to the affidavit.
A neighbor reportedly found Robert Eiffert "all cut up" and lying in their apartment building's doorway. Another resident told police he saw Robert Eiffert lying on the front porch with blood coming from his neck and chest. He said he saw Damian Eiffert exit, jump "over Boby's body," then drive away in his father's car.
Surveillance video showed Damian Eiffert leaving through the front door with a dog and walking to a nearby car. The footage also showed Robert Eiffert walk out and slump over just outside the door, KREM reports.
Washington State Patrol found Damian Eiffert later that day with his father's car, which was "disabled" on Interstate 90 near Cheney.
"Eiffert was uncooperative with WSP and stated he had a gun on his person, while reaching for his waistband area," the SPD release said. "County Negotiators communicated with Eiffert in an effort to facilitate his surrender. He continued to be uncooperative making comments that someone from law enforcement was going to die. Eiffert was observed getting in and out of the vehicle with items in his hands."
Damian Eiffert fled from the vehicle on foot and was detained a short distance away, according to the SPD release. Prosecutors say he was facing nearly 30 years in prison after entering his guilty plea, with his 21-year sentence falling on the low end of the standard sentence range, The Spokesman-Review reports.
Tags: 2nd Degree Murderfatal stabbingfatherguilty pleamurderplea dealWashington State
