Could Joe Burrow’s tenure with the Cincinnati Bengals be coming to an end? It wouldn’t be the first franchise quarterback to move on before getting a ring; just ask Carson Palmer.
The Bengals have been good but not good enough, injured or not clicking on all cylinders for a while now.
Burrow is entering his seventh year in the NFL. Could the continued losing be taking a toll on Cincinnati’s franchise quarterback?
Mike Florio Sends Bengals Warning on Joe Burrow
On Mike Florio’s most recent “Pro Football Talk” episode, he took clips from Burrow’s recent press conference and discussed the mental state of the Bengals quarterback.
The 29-year-old seemed dejected, as if he was trying to manifest the Bengals winning the Super Bowl, which had Florio a bit concerned.
“I think Joe Burrow is coming very close to the Carson Palmer realization that it’s never going to happen for me in Cincinnati, and it took Palmer eight years to get there,” Florio said. “This is year seven for Joe Burrow. If they don’t make it to the playoffs this year, at a minimum, they’re going to fire Zac Taylor, and they’re going to say to Joe Burrow, ‘Who do you want us to hire?’ That’s at a minimum, but that may not even be enough.”
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Florio continued by suggesting that Burrow may not even want to lead the search for a new coach. He may just want out entirely.
“Joe Burrow may say, ‘It doesn’t matter who you hire. Doesn’t matter. You can get Mike Tomlin. You can get anybody. It’s not going to matter. I need a fresh start. Seven years is enough. I need a fresh start,'” Florio added. “It’s easy to say that because I’m also paying attention to anything that could be construed as evidence that he may eventually want out.
“But when you couple what he said yesterday with how dejected he was last December on his 29th birthday, where he was just despondent, and they asked him, ‘Are you okay?’ And it was just really strange, and the losing was just wearing on him and wearing on him.”
The NBC analyst said that when you see guys like Jalen Hurts or Sam Darnold having success, and, as Burrow, believe you’re more talented than them, it could be easy to just want a change of scenery.
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Florio closed by saying the Bengals need to change their focus from appeasing Burrow to winning. Otherwise, Cincinnati is going to lose its franchise quarterback.
“Is it ever going to get fixed in Cincinnati? … This is why (Carson Palmer) left,” Florio said. “When you prioritize making money over winning, you’ve already lost. Where is the evidence that the Bengals are prioritizing winning? Have we ever seen any evidence? They’re prioritizing placating Joe Burrow because he’s their meal ticket.”
“They’re not prioritizing winning,” Florio continued. “Carson Palmer came to that conclusion, and I think Joe Burrow is one season away from coming to the same conclusion.”
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During Burrow’s six seasons, he’s been to the playoffs twice. He has a 5-2 record in the playoffs, including a Super Bowl appearance. According to PFN’s QB Impact Metric, since entering the league, Burrow has finished three seasons as a top-five-ranked quarterback in the league.
However, the years Cincinnati has come up short have been due to a number of reasons outside of simply not having enough talent on the field.
Palmer spent eight seasons with the Bengals, though he didn’t play in his rookie year, and that tenure included just two playoff games.
If Cincinnati doesn’t have a successful season, there will be a lot of questions needing answers at the end of the year.
