Joe Burrow leaves no doubt about his intentions, and Bengals fans should now be at ease
Joe Burrow clears the air and lays out his ambition in the process.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow made headlines a week ago with his comments about continuing to play football, and he put any remaining speculation to bed in his latest press conference Wednesday afternoon.
“I’m gonna be playing for a long time,” Burrow said when asked about how much he loves football. “I expect to play for a long time, and I expect to play well and consistently great for a long time.”
Burrow has arrived at an interesting point in his career now that he’s being asked such questions after just turning 29 years old. His name has begun being linked to Andrew Luck, who famously retired at Burrow’s current age back in 2019, due to the similar number of injuries each quarterback have suffered.
Luck chose his path in the end. Burrow has now made it clear he wants to go further, and to be associated with other names at the position.
Joe Burrow reveals another layer to his football ambition
Burrow may be old for a running back or cornerback, but playing quarterback is not just for the youngsters. Philip Rivers is proving that out of nowhere, hilariously enough, and there are many other examples of QBs defying their age.
As his sixth year in the NFL is nearly over, Burrow is somewhere between young and old for the position. Most call that the prime of a player’s career. When asked if he feels that’s where he’s at, or if his prime has yet to come, Burrow also revealed what company he’s striving to join.
“I think people have proven that you can play at a high level for a long time,” Burrow said. “Tom Brady proved it. Peyton Manning proved it. Drew Brees proved it. Aaron Rodgers is proving it. Joe Flacco has proven it. And so I want to be in the conversations with people like that, and I do everything that I need to do for my body to prepare it for these games and for long-term success. So I plan on doing it for a long time at high level.”
Not exactly the words of someone who has serious thoughts of calling it quits before turning 30. Brady played until he was 45. Manning was 39 when he played his last down. Brees was 41. Rodgers and Flacco are 42 and 40, respectively.
Burrow was a freshman at Ohio State 10 years ago. 10 years from now, he’d still be younger than almost every one of the legends he name-dropped.
This year has been trying for Burrow and Cincinnati as a whole. He’s not shy about keeping an open mind, but his intentions of continuing to play and pushing for a long career are crystal clear.
That’s about all Bengals fans can ask from the face of the franchise at this point with everything else looking bleak.
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