Joe Burrow has not minced words as of late when speaking to the media. The Cincinnati Bengals have lost three in a row and four of five overall, and their playoff chances are hanging on by a thread.
To say Burrow has been frustrated, angry and flat-out dumfounded at how his Bengals are just 4-8 on the year would be a massive understatement.
He, along with Bengals fans everywhere, is over it. Burrow hasn't been shy recently with his frustrations, saying that the playoffs are the furthest thing from his mind and also publicly hinting that there are going to be changes made by season's end.
On Thursday, Burrow once again provided us with quite the snippet. He was asked whom he views to be the "franchise cornerstones" in Cincinnati, as of right now. His answer?
Short but to the point:
“I think we will find out in the next five weeks.”
If that's not a wake-up call for some of his coaches and teammates, I don't know what will be. That's about as clear as you can get. The franchise quarterback is essentially asking his peers, who among them wants to do their job?
Joe Burrow's recent sentiments are not a bad thing by any means
For anyone who even, for a second, thinks that Burrow's recent frustrations and subtle commentary is a negative thing, think again.
If anybody has earned the right to speak in such a manner, it's Burrow. How must the guy feel amid a season where he has quite literally done everything possible to win football games, yet the Bengals continue to lose?
More Bengals news:
Of course he is going to be frustrated. Of course he wants to see changes made.
There is no world where the Bengals simply roll into next year with mostly the same roster and coaching staff as they had this season. The leader of this franchise understands what must happen.
Change must happen. Burrow has led this Bengals offense to some elite performances this year; performances in which the team has ended up taking a loss more often than not. We've already covered this. Burrow needs some help, and I think we know which side of the ball he's referring to.
So, Burrow putting it all out there for the world to fully understand. Over the next five weeks, we're going to see who truly wants to be part of the Bengals organization and who doesn't deserve to stick around. It is a very fair assessment of how this season has gone.
If anyone thinks he's out of line or being too dramatic, I beg of you once more to think again.