Bengals QB Joe Burrow on his interceptions vs. Bills
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow speaks to the media about his pair of fourth-quarter interceptions against the Bills on Dec. 7.
Amazon Prime Video analysts Richard Sherman, Andrew Whitworth, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tony Gonzalez assessed Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s remarks that he made on his 29th birthday, during “TNF Nightcap” after the Atlanta Falcons’ win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Curious,” Sherman said. “Very, very curious. And if I’m Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay/Kevin O’Connell, I’m trying to figure out and talk to my GM and see: What exactly do we have to offer the Cincinnati Bengals? Can we offer them the whole team and a dream? Because that’s what it’s gonna take to pry him out of Cincinnati, if they’re even gonna allow that. He’s obviously not having fun there.”
“He has two of the best receivers in the National Football League in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins,” Sherman continued. “They have an offensive system that works. They score a lot of points. But when you’re not having fun, you’re getting beat up every year. You want to go somewhere where you feel supported, you feel seen. You feel like you can enjoy playing the game. And I know a few places with great weather that would love to have him.”
“I think my first reaction is a guy who’s been through a lot,” Whitworth said. “I can remember when … I faced an injury or had to do rehab and think maybe, maybe not I’m getting back on the field this season or my future in the league. You question a lot of those things, and it does. It puts a lot of mental strain on you. Not just the physical part. But just the emotions, the highs and the lows, of feeling like a superhero one second and feeling like it all may be over for nothing the next.”
“And you think of what he’s been through there in Cincinnati,” Whitworth continued. “Joe is a complex individual. I think that’s what we all know about him. He’s a great dude. He’s a close friend. He’s somebody that honestly the game of football is really important to him, but he also loves life. He loves to travel. He loves to go and explore.”
“So, I think to me, it’s like him contemplating, ‘Am I having fun doing this?'” Whitworth added. “Making sure it’s important to me. What are those things that are going to set me up to enjoy this game and get the most out of it? So I think he’s contemplating a lot of different things. Not just where he’s playing. But also, like, making sure I’m enjoying every moment and never taking any of it for granted. And if there’s something else I’d rather be doing, let me explore that too.”
“I’m gonna chalk it up as he’s just down in the dumps,” Gonzalez said. “They caught him on a bad day. … He’s in the swamps of sadness. They’re losing. This is not fun. This is what you go through. I have been exactly where he’s at. Where you’re saying to yourself, ‘I’ve accomplished most everything I can as a player individually. But now, I want to win Super Bowls. I want to play in the postseason. I want to get back to where I was before.'”
“And it’s just not happening right now,” Gonzalez added. “He’s frustrated, feeling down. I would chalk that up. I bet by next week or after a win, he’ll be right back to being Joe Burrow and being the leader of that team. And I don’t think he’s going anywhere. That’s a lot of wishful thinking.”
“Think about the season and think about toe injury and the surgery,” Fitzpatrick said. “I mean in that Buffalo game, it sure looked like he was having fun for the first part of that. And obviously the two interceptions … aren’t really his fault that happen at the end of the game. But I do think this is a little prisoner of the moment.”
“But when do we see Joe Burrow smile and have fun?” Fitzpatrick continued. “He has a different way of showing it, I think. … He’s a guy that’s an absolute machine as a quarterback. We love watching him play, Joe. So we hope you play. We hope you’re happy. But we hope you play for as long as you can because he is a fun guy to watch. And the NFL is better with Joe Burrow in it.”