Burrow was unsurprisingly the winner while receiving 31-of-50 first-place votes. The 28-year-old signal-caller was superb with a 43/9 TD/INT ratio and 4,918 yards after playing in just 10 games in 2024. J.K. Dobbins finished second in voting with Sam Darnold placing third.

These core players, of course, are Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Trey Hendrickson, and perhaps, to a lesser extent, Mike Gesicki. Of the above-mentioned players, Higgins and Gesicki are the only players currently set to hit free agency, but the Bengals will need to work out a deal with Chase this off-season after putting off an extension with him last summer. Chase is a virtual lock to emerge as the highest-paid receiver in the league when all is said and done after he posted career highs in receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708), and receiving touchdowns (17), which also led all receivers in 2024. Whether or not a restructured deal for Burrow would create enough cap space to keep all key players in Cincinnati is to be determined, but the QB1 has been vocal about his desire to see the team keep its best players in tow for 2025 and beyond.

Burrow has been a mainstay of the injury report this year but has not been affected by any of his minor issues. He will be out there for a must-win game versus the Steelers on Saturday. Cincinnati needs to win plus get losses from Denver and Miami to make the playoffs. While their odds of those things all happening are low, Burrow’s QB1 odds remain sky-high.