CINCINNATI — Twelve months later, Joe Burrow is in a much calmer place.
Last year, heading into camp, the quarterback was on the verge of a five-year, $275 million contract extension. He dealt with the contract talk basically from the end of the AFC Championship loss in Kansas City.
Then on the second day of camp, with both sides closing in on a deal, Burrow strained his left calf on a scramble drill. It was a brutal start to camp.
He would sign the contract on Sept. 7 and make his season debut three days later in Cleveland. It took him four games before he really hit his stride in Arizona.
He popped his right wrist in Week 11 in Baltimore and his season was over. He had surgery later and then had to think about how his hand would respond post surgery. It was – without question – the most complicated season of his football life.
He came back from a torn ACL in 2021 but this was much different. Burrow had to work through an offseason of learning to throw the ball the right way again, slow and first, then faster and harder.
Now, after passing the first test of OTAs and minicamp, Burrow is ready for the next step after being cleared for full contact on the eve of camp on Monday.
Wednesday marked the first day of camp and it wasn’t spectacular. But it didn’t need to be to make Burrow happy. Burrow will be happy just working his way back up to speed without drama.
“Yeah, definitely less distractions heading into camp this year, I would say, especially in this first week,” Burrow told me. “We had a great plan over the last month to month and a half to get my body and mind the way that I felt like it needed to be coming into camp. And that’s a credit to all the people that I surround myself with.
“They work really hard to make sure that I’m at my best and I’m really appreciative of that from people in the building and out of the building, family, friends, everybody. I’m really happy with the plan that I had coming into camp this year, happy with how my body feels, happy with how my mind feels. So we’re in a good spot.”
Burrow was the focus of the Bengals rebuild in 2020, as the No. 1 overall pick. He had to prove he was worthy of that value. He more than did that, leading the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI and the AFC Championship the next year.
What Burrow did in bringing the Bengals back to relevance in four seasons won’t define his legacy. Leading them to a Super Bowl win will.
“I would say as a young player, you’re trying to establish yourself and win games, but establish yourself as a really good quarterback and a good player,” Burrow said. “I feel like I’m past that point and I’m established. Now you can kind of enter that (stage of) whatever it takes to get the job done. That’s kind of always been the mindset, but you definitely think about different things early in your career than you do now, I would say.
“I would say that team-oriented goals are the only thing that I’m worried about at this point. Stats are stats. As long as we’re winning and hit the team goals that we want, that’s all that matters to me.”
Joe Burrow to Andrei Iosivas on a quick out. pic.twitter.com/ri703vCAnm
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) July 24, 2024
When BJ Hill dared Burrow and others to go with a bleached crewcut, Burrow figured what the hell? Might as well. That, and he was bored. So, why not go back to the days of the Athens Bulldogs?
“We did it as a team when we won the district championship,” Burrow said. “Just trying to channel a little bit of that here. First couple of days was definitely a little shocking when I woke up, I would say. But I’ve gotten used to it.”
Joe Burrow is in a different place right now. He believes he’s in a space that will help him lead the team to the promised land. That’s what training camp is truly all about.
“Yeah you grow and learn every year. I’m know I’m pretty damn good. I have been. Going to continue to improve year to year, day to day. I think that’s how you have to approach it. I’m focused on continued improvement and I’m really happy with the offseason that I had. I’m really happy to have this training camp to continue to hone my skills and improve and build this team chemistry for this run we’re about to go on.”
That sounds like a strong and confident message from the leader of a team that is still searching for Super Bowl glory.
Asked Joe Burrow about his peace of mind heading into Bengals 2024 season “I’m in a good spot” pic.twitter.com/J9apMzQzC3
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) July 24, 2024
