Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has been all about urgency this offseason. Every single time he’s talked about the upcoming season, his seventh leading the Bengals, championship aspirations have been at the forefront of his thoughts.

Thursday was no different following Cincinnati’s join practice against the Chicago Bears. It was the last time Burrow in the starters go up against another team until the regular season arrives on Sept. 13. It was an opportunity for valuable work, and to repeat a valuable message.

A message that is already been misconstrued by usual suspects.

Joe Burrow continues manifesting greatness for the Bengals

From indirectly predicting a Super Bowl title, to using the 2019 LSU team as a comparison, Burrow has been busy propping up the 2026 Bengals. His reasoning is simple.

“I’m trying to put it into the world, I’m trying to manifest it,” Burrow said Thursday. “I’m trying to show our guys the urgency that I have, and that I want us to have as an organization to go and make it happen. You can keep pushing it down the road, or you can talk about it now and say this is the year. I’m tired of saying next year, next year, next year. Life is too short to keep pushing things down the road, and I’m trying to instill some urgency and some intensity in everybody to go and be great every day and try to go make it happen.”

This statement prompted ESPN’s Ben Baby to ask if Burrow feels like it’s now or never.

“That’s how I’m treating it, for sure.”

Yeah, that’s a head-turning answer. It backs up all the energy the 29-year-old QB has been giving off the last few months, and sends another message to the locker room that needs to buy in to it.

But then it hit the internet.

Burrow’s message is now being misconstrued, but not to those who matter

By saying “now or never,” Burrow has unfortunately opened the door for pundits to take another crack at the narrative that the two-time Comeback Player of the Year wants out of Cincinnati.

ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky wasted no time spouting off the take. Fans around the league followed suit.

A guy just can’t approach the season like winning is more important than anything without outsiders twisting his words. It’s a shame, really.

Inside the locker room, Burrow’s sense of urgency is catching on as he’s noticed new arrivals Dexter Lawrence and Jonathan Allen take part in spreading the sentiment.

“I don’t know if it’s necessarily catching on, or following, or just feeling it themselves,” Burrow said of his messaging. “I think the veteran guys have have all tried to do it in their own way. [Dexter Lawerence] and Jonathan [Allen] have both spoken up in front of the team about it, and you know I’m more so do it with my actions and individual conversations, but everybody feels it. All the veterans that have come in and that have been here feel it, and wanna go do it.”

The real takeaway from Burrow’s statement

Perhaps it’s a good thing for Burrow to stay present and drive home the importance of winning now. The team is undoubtedly going to look different next year if expectations aren’t met. Better to make it count now than lower expectations unnecessarily.

Burrow is not going to be part of any turnover regardless of what happens. The Bengals wouldn’t allow it to happen anyways. They’ve proven they’re willing to do what it takes to surround him with what he needs on the roster.

The media is going to say what it knows incites attention about Burrow. Fox Sports’ “First Things First” did a whole segment about his “I work here” hat last week. Some in the industry cannot be saved.

That’s the noise. The meaning of Burrow’s messaging is simple. He knows this is a great chance for him and Cincinnati to win it all. He does not want to waste it.