Colts expert explains what the Bengals need to do in order to prevent Joe Burrow from suffering the same fate as Andrew Luck
Joe Burrow is once again on the mend, and comparisons to Andrew Luck are only growing louder.
It’s a comparison many Cincinnati Bengals fans may still be running from, but every time Joe Burrow goes down with an injury, Andrew Luck’s name is only going to get louder in their ears.
It’s been just over six years since Luck shocked the Indianapolis Colts and the entire sports world by retiring right before his 30th birthday. The former first-overall pick, four-time Pro Bowler, and Comeback Player of the Year suffered a plethora of injuries in his seven-year career with the Colts, and some of them never showed up on the injury report. Indianapolis allowed him to take hit after hit, and the damage on his body continued to get worse.
It’s hard not to feel like something similar is on the precipice with Cincinnati and Burrow, who turns 29 in December and may not play again until then. He suffered turf toe this past week, and it could be his third season-ending injury in six years.
The Bengals’ advantage in this case is that they have history to learn from. What happened with Luck was largely unprecedented, but if Cincinnati’s decision-makers don’t take the proper steps, no one can say for certain that Burrow won’t end up going down the same path.
A to Z Sports’ Colts beat writer Destin Adams witnessed the rise and fall of Luck’s career, so who better to bounce off some questions about the Bengals’ predicament with their own franchise quarterback?
Comparing Andrew Luck’s past with Joe Burrow’s present
JS: At what point, if at all, did you start to think the Colts were not doing right by Luck? Was there a certain injury or season in which those thoughts crept into your mind?
DA: I’d say following Luck’s second year in the NFL, frustration started to creep in on that subject. Luck had led the Colts to back-to-back 11-5 seasons and was coming off a divisional-round loss. The time to push all the chips in had arrived. And while the team made some “notable moves,” their struggling offensive line only added two rookies, one of which was an undrafted player. Luck, being as good as he was, still found a way to take the Colts to the conference championship game in 2014, but the Colts’ neglect of their offensive line finally caught up to them in 2015. Luck only played in seven games that year, and the rest of his career was spent battling multiple injuries.
JS: Was there ever any hint that Luck was inching that way with anything that he said or did? What was his mindset about toughness and adversity?
DA: I don’t know if I’d call it a hint towards his shocking retirement, but training camp that year was weird for sure. His injury status felt like a mystery as the team was keeping everything close to the vest. And he tried to practice near the middle but didn’t finish the day, and never practiced again before his retirement was announced in the preseason.
JS: From your perspective, what’s the biggest problem with the Bengals in their efforts in supporting Burrow?
DA: I’d say not figuring out a solution to the offensive line. They’ve made multiple moves there over the years by signing veteran free agents and drafting players. But all of that doesn’t matter unless you actually get the right guys on the field. I don’t think it’s the same issue that the Colts’ front office had, because they tried to nickel-and-dime a line together. The Bengals have just failed to find the right pairings to build an offensive line that can keep Burrow healthy.
JS: Before he was drafted, many believed the Bengals would ruin Burrow by not giving him the resources he needed to succeed. Is what’s happening now that fear coming true, or is this a different way of “ruining” him?
DA: I know everyone likes to look back to the Bengals’ choice to draft Ja’Marr Chase instead of Penei Sewell, but I don’t think they would go back and make a different selection. Giving your franchise QB his top weapon from college is a no-brainer, and if Burrow asked for it, just about every team in the league would have done the same thing. Keying in on multiple first-round and even second-round players in the next few years to build a line they could trust probably should have been the focus. At times, it feels like the Bengals have just gotten frustrated that so many of their swings either in free agency or the draft haven’t worked, so they’ve gone back to what has worked for them in drafting wide receivers and defenders.
JS: What is the one thing the Bengals should do differently with Burrow going forward to prevent him from following in Luck’s footsteps?
DA: They need to be honest with themselves about their offensive line. If it’s not going to be good enough to allow Burrow to run the offense they have in place, it needs to change. They probably won’t all of a sudden have five starters they trust on the field come Week 1 of the 2026 season. Build in more quick passing options and don’t ask him to drop back and have to create time moving out of the pocket to hit Chase or Tee Higgins on a play that simply takes too long to develop. And while doing this, continue to take shots towards building their line. It needs to be priority No. 1 every offseason until a line they can trust has been built, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.