Perhaps what has stopped Joe Burrow from carving out a Tom Brady-like career so far has not been talent but durability. Every time he appears to be turning the Bengals into perennial contenders, his body gives way.
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From the torn ACL and MCL that cut his rookie season short, to a sprained MCL in the Super Bowl, to the wrist injury that derailed 2023, Burrow has faced setback after setback. Now, the turf toe suffered in Week 2 against the Jaguars will keep him out for three months.
It is this constant cycle that makes comparisons to Brady ring hollow, something Julian Edelman, Brady’s longtime Patriots teammate, addressed this week. Speaking to Colin Cowherd, Edelman noted that while the GOAT did sustain injuries, the public only ever heard about the major ones.
“Tom played through some stuff that he just wouldn’t [reveal to the public]… There were times where he had a broken foot, no one knew about it, that he played with broken ribs. He just didn’t really publicize it,” Edelman said.
But as the ex-Patriots WR emphasized, it wasn’t just toughness that helped Brady survive the injuries. Preparation was everything.
“I tell you one thing that Tom always did, he always thought about his body. He had Alex Guerrero around him 24/7. So if he’s subconsciously thinking about this all the time, it translates into your game,” Edelman added.
He also reflected on Brady’s constant focus on avoiding risky spots on the field, sliding away from pressure, never lingering in “high-risk areas,” which was as important as the work he put in off it.
This is what separates Brady from Joe Burrow, Edelman suggested, because the Bengals quarterback often has no choice but to stand in collapsing pockets.
The three-time Super Bowl winner, however, didn’t just single out Burrow, as he looked at the current state of the Bengals as a whole:
“Everyone knows they got to throw the ball vertically to win. They don’t have a defense that’s going to get them turnovers. They have zero run game. So, there’s a built-up pressure for Joe Burrow to have to make plays… They really have a fundamental problem with how their team’s made.”
Numbers, in fact, back Edelman’s claims. Burrow led the league in sacks taken in 2021 with 51 and endured 19 more in the playoffs that year, including seven in the Super Bowl. These stats adds to the narrative that injuries like turf toe, the wrist tear, and the knee damage are not just bad luck. They’re symptoms of a team construction that constantly puts its star QB at risk.
All told, Edelman’s words serve as a reminder to the Bengals that they need to do a better job in protecting their quarterback. Meanwhile, from Burrow’s perspective, he can wonder what he can do to go the extra mile to improve his fitness.
Because as things stand, it’s his endurance that will decide if he has an Andrew Luck-type career or one, filled with silverware.
