Off the field, Burrow would much prefer to stay in the shadows with his personal life, but he’s a man of mystery that way because, ironically, he seems to be inviting the cameras in recently.
While dazzling with a “Comeback Player of the Year” campaign in 2024, Burrow decided to take part in the Netflix series Quarterback, which will air in July. Last summer, he walked the runway at “Vogue World 2024” Fashion Week in Paris, and more recently, he attended one of the ritziest social events of the year at The Met Gala.
“I would say the media all around the event is a little exhausting, but once you’re actually there, it’s just very private, and that’s hard for me to come by these days,” Burrow said Tuesday in his first press conference of the 2025 NFL calendar. “So, the more opportunities that I can try to have a normal dinner party, a normal dinner, be around people that don’t really don’t know, don’t care, just around good people, the more opportunities I’m going to take.”
Burrow might blend in with the crowd at those types of events, but as a fierce competitor, he seeks to set himself apart from the pack when it comes to football. And there’s always room to improve.
So, while his career-best season was enough to lead the league in passing yards (4,918), touchdowns (43) and completions (460), Burrow wasn’t satisfied because the Bengals still missed the playoffs with a 9-8 finish.
Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
“If I had played even better, we wouldn’t have been in that spot that we were in,” Burrow said. “I just focus on getting better myself, and I feel like everyone in the locker room feels the same way. If I go out there and play better than I did last year then it doesn’t matter what goes on anywhere else.”
Asked what he’s going to do for an encore of his 2024 season, Burrow said he’s not worried about whether his stats are better or worse, as long as he gets better and puts his team in positions to be successful.
The Bengals are hoping in 2025 to take better advantage of having one of the league’s elite quarterbacks – one who only managed to get better last year despite uncertainty of a surgically repaired wrist.
“I think that’s his standard, you know, is to play at the level that he’s played at and continue to help grow the team as a leader,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “That’s something, you know, he’s part of the onboarding process with a lot of our new players, a lot of our veteran players. He’s obviously an enormous part of this team. And so, him getting those guys up to speed so that they can help us win, that’s part of the process that he’s a part of, and he’s always embraced that. And I’ve always been proud of how he’s accepted that role.”
Burrow not so easily accepted the idea of letting cameras take a peek behind the scenes for the show Quarterback. Originally, he said he wouldn’t be interested in doing something like that until later in his career, but after a conversation with Peyton Manning – a mentor who also was involved in the show – Burrow changed his mind.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The cameras blended in while the Hard Knocks crew was around last winter to film the HBO series on the AFC North division rivals, and Burrow believes the series will be good for him and the Bengals.
“Only positive things could come out of it,” Burrow said. “He (Manning)’s going to protect me, protect our team, protect our organization. I have trust in him for saying that and trust that he’s going to do that. I probably wouldn’t have done it if he wasn’t involved, but I have a lot of trust and faith in him to not do anything that would hurt me or the team.”
Burrow has long been the face of the Bengals organization, since they drafted him No. 1 overall in 2020 and watched him elevate the team to a Super Bowl contender in Year 2 while coming back from an ACL tear that ended his rookie year after 10 games. He became an even more vocal leader in the past year, and his voice was heard within the highest levels of the Bengals organization.
Late last season Burrow made a push for the team to sign Tee Higgins to a long-term deal, calling him a “need,” and that seemed to go a long way in both him and Ja’Marr Chase getting their contracts done. Burrow said he was excited to see two hard-working players rewarded in that way, but he hopes his comments didn’t carry much weight in that matter.
“That’s not really a position I want to be in,” Burrow said.
Burrow said the Bengals’ ability to get those deals done showed their investment into winning. Now he’s just focused on doing his part to make sure that pays off.
“I feel great,” Burrow said. “This is the best that I’ve felt in the offseason. Just like every year, trying to get better, trying to get stronger, faster, healthier. Try to find ways that you can optimize your health throughout the whole season, not hurt as much. I’m in a good spot.”
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