To be a Cincinnati Bengals fan is to be exhausted. Lack of longevity aside, Joe Burrow is the best, most impactful player in the history of the franchise. This team would be rudderless without him.
And yet instead of going all-in with an elite quarterback in his prime, the Bengals have made the absolute least of Burrow's physical prime. He just turned 29 years old, an occasion that coincided with a press conference that was quite frankly super depressing.
I hope Burrow had a fun birthday celebration, or as fun as it could be given that he's gearing up to take on the Baltimore Ravens. Because sheesh, feels like a lot's going on between the ears. And it feels like mundane and cosmic forces are at play to prevent Burrow from realizing his full potential.
Joe Burrow longing for the fun in football as accursed Bengals deplete his joy
There are very real-world, tangible factors that have gotten the Bengals to this point, where Burrow is questioning his football future aloud. We'll get to what he said in a second.
Reality bites. Lack of liquidity in ownership. A history of frugality. A refusal to invest more resources in the scouting/personnel departments to be even close to up to snuff. A rigidity that seldom results in coaching changes. A prideful arrogance that shirks accountability or wholesale changes when the public and on-field product demand them.
All of that is catching up to Joe Burrow. And that's before the blown-out knee from his rookie season. Before his appendix exploded. Before his career-threatening right wrist injury in 2023. Before the brutal turf toe injury suffered in Week 2 this season.
Add all that up, and this is the Joe Burrow you get:
"If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing this. I have been through a lot. If it's not fun, then what am I doing it for? That is the mind set I am trying to bring to the table."
Joe Burrow today on his new mindset following the third serious injury of his career. Prioritizing having fun, despite the challenges of 2025.
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) December 10, 2025
"If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing this. I have been through a lot. If it's not fun, then what am I doing it for?… pic.twitter.com/nc5mTxno7K
Yes indeed, Joe — you have been through a lot. And on behalf of Cincinnati Bengals fans across the globe speaking for the organization itself (since they refuse to), we apologize.
Head coach Zac Taylor is out here talking about how much he loves adversity. The man is clueless. The lack of urgency amongst key leadership is so palpable it makes your stomach turn.
I'm sure the people in seats of profound influence at Paycor Stadium headquarters *believe* they're doing all they can to help Burrow maximize his career. It's just that the standard for what's even league-average passable in that regard is so distorted, out of whack, and not anywhere close to what it actually takes to field a Super Bowl-caliber team that blanket complacency is the default paradigm.
The brain trust seems content to let Burrow cover all the team's warts. He led the NFL in passing yards and passing TDs last season. It wasn't enough to go to the playoffs. Burrow wasn't protected properly by his offensive line until this year, after a pass blocking breakdown led to his Week 2 injury.
That's right. It took the Bengals five and a half seasons to get an acceptable pass blocking unit for an offense that airs it out as much as anyone when Burrow is healthy.
Anyone reading this knows how bad the defense is this year. Again. Burrow rattled off five straight wins to end 2024 in spite of how awful the D was then. Cincinnati finished 31st in yards allowed the season before.
Again. That's right. The Bengals have let their defense rank near the bottom of the league for the vast majority of the past three seasons.
That's why things have gone so awry since those runs to Super Bowl LVI and another AFC Championship Game. And that's why Burrow's seemingly indefatigable competitive spirit is almost broken at age 29.
Is there some spell cast over Bengals headquarters? Why is Burrow's career arc and rhetoric looking so eerily similar to that of Andrew Luck?
As much as I love watching Joe Burrow do his thing on the football field, this offseason can't come soon enough. Joe needs a break. Everything is compounding and it's taking a toll. I want him to get away from football. I don't want him to lose another game where the defense can't stop a nosebleed and he has to sit at the podium, act like it's his fault that he didn't capitalize on every fathomable situation to score more points, and cover for a franchise that hasn't done right by him.
The Bengals need to get it together. And fast. Otherwise, put Burrow out of his misery and trade him for a historic haul. It's painful to watch for everyone involved, never mind Burrow actually suffering through it.