Much like Kawhi Leonard, it seems Joe Burrow wants to be a “Fun Guy.” But unlike the Klaw, Burrow doesn’t appear to be succeeding in that endeavor. He even questioned whether he would continue playing football if he wasn’t having fun in a recent interview, which opened the floodgates for theories on the QB’s future.
Advertisement
The most popular theory is that the comments were subtly aimed at the failing Cincinnati Bengals franchise, to which he’s hitched his wagon (and vice versa). The prevailing thought is that Burrow is not having fun because he’s in Cincinnati. If he went somewhere else, the change of scenery would fix things.
On Bussin’ with the Boys, featuring former NFLers Taylor Lewan and Will Compton, they got into the nitty-gritty of Burrow’s situation with Greg Olsen on hand for assistance. Compton suspected there could be some off-the-field, personal issues at play, but he also believes Burrow simply wants to be on a winning team.
“There’s gotta be something going on off the field just based on the clues and nuggets… I don’t think he wants to be done playing football, I think he just wants to be on a winning football team,” Compton said.
“The dude’s just beat down … like this is one of the best players in the NFL, and he’s just been on this sh*t team for the last few years,” said the former linebacker.
Olsen, who played 14 years in the NFL and was a two-time First-Team All-Pro, agreed that Burrow just seemed like he was “tired of losing.” He sympathized with the Bengals QB on the personal side, talking about how even rich athletes have personal problems. But at the same time, it all really boiled down to what’s happening on the football field.
“I sense a guy that’s tired of losing. ‘I’m tired of scoring 30+ points and losing. Everybody else around the league scores 20 and they win … How come I’m on this team that, over the last two years, I’ve scored 34+ points in a loss. That’s not fun,” Olsen argued.
“Coming into a locker room of a winner is very different than coming into the locker room of a loser. … It’s been a steady decrease, especially on the defensive side of the ball,” added the former QB.
It seems pretty obvious that Burrow, whatever may be happening in his personal life, is simply tired of playing well and still losing. And that’s fair enough. Guys like Calvin Johnson and Barry Sanders retired very early for similar reasons.
After his team’s most recent 24-0 loss, Burrow took sole credit, saying it was “one of the worst” performances of his life. But he also clarified that his comments about not having fun had nothing to do with the Bengals and were only about his own “football mindset.”
We’re not really sure what that means. But we do think Burrow will stay put. He may be frustrated with one of the worst-run franchises in football, but a player of his caliber is rarely traded. Fans across the league can at least dream of a hypothetical Burrow trade for a little while, though.
