Zac Taylor was asked about Joe Burrow's Olympic flag football plans and what it could mean for the Bengals.
The Cincinnati Bengals are entering the 2026 season looking to rebound after a 9-8 finish in 2025 that extended their playoff drought to three straight years. While the defense ranked 30th in total defense, the offense remained productive, finishing 12th in total offense (343.1 yards per game). However, Joe Burrow’s absence for half the season significantly altered Cincinnati’s ceiling.
Burrow entered 2025 coming off a career-best 2024 season, where he threw for 4,918 yards, 38 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, completing 69.4% of his passes across 17 games.
He carried that form into the start of 2025, completing 21 of 29 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1. In Week 2, Burrow completed 14 of 19 passes for 185 yards before suffering a Grade 3 turf toe injury, which ultimately required surgery. He was placed on injured reserve and returned for the final six games of the season.
Despite losing Burrow, Cincinnati’s offense remained functional behind Joe Flacco, who was traded from the Cleveland Browns midseason.
However, there were also games where Flacco’s efficiency dropped. Cincinnati lost 34-10 to the Detroit Lions, where Flacco completed 16 of 34 passes for 184 yards with zero touchdowns and two interceptions. They also lost 27-18 to the Green Bay Packers, where he finished 29 of 45 for 219 yards and two touchdowns, but the offense struggled to sustain drives early.
Zac Taylor’s Response to Joe Burrow’s Olympics Aspirations
As the Bengals look forward to a healthy Burrow next season, head coach Zac Taylor was asked about Burrow potentially playing flag football at the 2028 Olympics, and if he’s worried about his star quarterback getting hurt.
“That sounds like a future Zac problem. So we’ll let future Zac handle that problem” (via Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson).
The 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles will run from July 14 to July 30, 2028, with flag football scheduled July 15–22 during the opening week.
NFL owners voted unanimously (32-0) to allow players to participate, with a rule limiting one player per NFL team to compete in the event.
The timing creates potential concerns. Flag football takes place during mid-July, which overlaps with the lead-up to NFL training camps, typically opening in late July. The schedule doesn’t directly impact the NFL’s 2028 calendar, but players involved would still have a shortened ramp-up period before the NFL season.
There are also concerns around injury risk. League executives and team personnel have acknowledged that participation introduces additional physical exposure outside team control, even in a non-contact format.
Burrow has already dealt with a torn ACL (2020), a wrist injury (2023) and the turf toe injury (2025). He remains under a five-year, $275 million contract that could potentially run through the 2029 season, keeping him as the Bengals’ long-term franchise quarterback.
Cincinnati’s offense includes Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins and has remained productive with different quarterbacks. Burrow’s availability across a full season remains central to the team’s chances in 2026 and beyond.