Chris Canty reacts to Bengals QB Joe Burrow hinted at early retirement during today’s presser

Chris Canty reacts to Bengals QB Joe Burrow hinted at early retirement during today’s presser

physical and likely mental toll he has taken as a quarterback that everyone thinks at any given point could win a Super Bowl, go to a Super Bowl or win an MVP. He’s gone to a Super Bowl, he hasn’t won one, hasn’t won an MVP, but nobody would be doubting his ability to do all three. Just hasn’t happened for him yet and all of the seasons he’s been hurt. He led it led him to talk about why he is trying to have more fun playing football this season. No, it certainly doesn’t change my desire to to win. you know, if I want to if I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it. You know, I’ve been through a lot and if it’s not fun, then what am I doing it for? So, that’s the mindset I’m trying to bring to the table. I’m not sure I’m not sure there was a a singular moment or of time. It’s just uh reflection reflection on a lot of things that I’ve done and been through in my career. I think I’ve been through more than most and certainly not easy on the the brain or the body. So, just trying to have fun doing it again. if I want to keep doing this. Wow, that is a strong part of this and and it led the to the question, does he feel closer to Andrew Luck, which is, for lack of a better way of saying it, the the football was physically beaten out of him, so it took such a toll mentally where he walked away for good? Or is he closer to Carson Palmer, which is I can’t believe how bad this situation is. I have to find a way out of it. My only way out of it is to walk away for now to get somewhere else later. He’s Joe Burrow feels more in line with Luck or Palmer, guys. Oh, to me, I think it’s Andrew Luck. Oh. So, so if he walks away this off seasonason, you will not be surprised. Joe Burrow says this off season, I’m done with football. That would not surprise Chris Kanty. No. Wow. Really? No. even though we’ve heard him question his football mortality before. Or maybe that’s why that’s why that’s the reason why he’s talked about it openly. And this is somebody that’s 29 years old. Just turned 29 yesterday. Andrew Lux last year on the field. 29 years old. Oh, I didn’t even realize that. Interesting. Yeah. And Joe Burrow talked a little bit yesterday about not having fun, not having the joy. This is a direct quote from Andrew Luck during his retirement announcement in 2019. I haven’t been able to live the life I want to live. It’s taken the joy out of the game. The only way forward for me is to remove myself from football. I think what folks have to understand is that for Joe Burrow, it stopped being about money a long time ago. Yeah. This is somebody that was the number one overall pick in 2020. At the time he signed his contract extension several years ago. He was the highest paid quarterback in the league. At the end of this season, he would have made $177 million. So, this is about enjoying the game and quality of life. And as I stated previously, when it comes to quarterbacks and how often they get hit and how often they get sacked, when you include the playoffs, since Joe Burrow has come into the league, no quarterback has been sacked more. We’ve said this over and over and over again about the Cincinnati Bengals not protecting Joe Burrow, not taking seriously the impact that all of the hits, all of the injuries can have on your quarterback moving forward. This brings it into focus for everybody that’s involved. This is serious and I don’t know how the Bengals fix it. Now, it could be trying to head this off by firing the head coach at the end of the year and trying to infuse the organization with a new voice, more optimism about something being different. You can cross your fingers and hope that that’s enough to get Joe Burrow on the other side of whatever he is, whatever he’s feeling right now. But to me, this is a very serious matter because this is a player talking about not having fun playing a kids game for a Kings ransom. This is very different than Carson Palmer not believing in the Cincinnati Bengals organization in terms of them helping him contend at the highest level of the sport. And this is all just us deducing. It’s speculation. But I also wonder if his desire to have fun and the consequences of him not having fun may have played a role in the organization listening to him when he’s talking about what he wants when he wants Chase and Higgins back when he is at his best with those two out on the field. We obviously know how talented all three of those guys are. It’s not as if they aren’t productive football players. But if you know that there’s something looming where he is not having a good time and it’s not about the money and he wants this, I can just imagine if you’re the organization wanting to plate him, wanting to make him happy and also recognizing that those two guys hopefully get you closer to a championship. But I pray it’s more Carson Carson Palmer and not Andrew Luck. Ultimately Joe Burl has to do what is best for him mentally and physically. And if that is walking away from football before we feel like it’s reached its natural conclusion, which would be him winning a Super Bowl, then he has to do what’s best for him. But as someone, it’s funny because he’s not having a lot of joy at times in his football experience. Every time he’s out there on the football field, he brings a lot of people so much joy because he is so good at his craft. He is excellent at what he does. And I think for so many of us, we’re like, gosh, what if he could stay healthy? What if he could be out on the field more consistently? What could he be capable of? Because anytime he’s out there, whether it’s him returning from a wrist injury or playing with a plate in his foot, he is dominant at what he does. So, I hope that he gets more protection. He gets taken care of in a better way. If it means he has to leave there and go play somewhere else, there’s a lot of different avenues this could go down. But as someone that does get a lot of joy watching him play football, I hope that the end is far down the road. Yeah, this feels like more than just football. And he alluded to that yesterday talking about a lot going on. He being Joe Burrow in his life right now. See, you seem like there was something on your mind. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but seemed frustrating. Um there’s just a lot of things going on right now. A lot of things going on right now. Football related, personally, all the above. Yeah, that’s where when you answer it that way, that’s where for me I take a step back and I say, well, maybe I’m not as worried as much about Burrow versus Allen and Jackson and Mahomes and like is he better than Herz? Is he not better than Herz? Because to me that screams we are going to find something out about his real life that has impacted him during the course of however long. Which by the way there’s probably thousands of other players that have things in sports going on in their real lives that we should be thinking about more. But he’s kind of telling us. Yeah. But here’s he about himself. You’re not you’re not wrong. Yeah. You’re not wrong. and maybe there is something happening in his personal life that’s serious, but anytime a professional athlete, especially a football player, is dealing with something in their personal life, the grass is your sanctuary. M in between those white lines. Think about all of the highle athletes that we’ve seen have different issues off the field and they come back and they talk about that that that field, this game, that locker room being a safe haven where they can find joy, where they can find peace doing something that they’ve done their entire lives. If football is no longer that for Joe Burrow while he’s also going through something serious away from the field, then that just exacerbates the issues facing the Cincinnati Bengals organization and the prospects of this guy walking away because if football can’t be your safe space and we already know this is not about money, then what the hell are you doing it for? Right? But so the three of us are sitting here But the three of us are sitting here today. I don’t want to I’m not trying to sound so somber, but this is kind of somber. The three of us are sitting here today saying it’s not off the board that in February or March Adam Shfter could report that Joe Burrow has decided to walk away from football. I I still think that would be stunning. Even though you could say the breadcrumbs are there leading us to the ultimate conclusion, I based on what We know about his competitive nature as well. I still would be stunned. I’d be floored. I’d be floored. You You paid for your guys to get paid in Cincinnati. They paid him. You got T. You got Jamar moving forward. You’re still so good at this to leave those guys in the lurch. I know you got to take care of you first, of course. But I would be shocked if Joe Burl walked away. I don’t want to believe that.

Chris Canty reacts to Bengals QB Joe Burrow hinted at early retirement during today’s presser