Before Joe Burrow could orchestrate the Cincinnati Bengals offense again, he had to recover from the season-ending wrist injury he sustained in 2023.
The Bengals quarterback took up piano as part of rehabilitation for his wrist injury. He plans to keep the hobby after the 2024 season where he hopes to play all 17 games for the first time ever in his career.
“I’ve always wanted to learn how to play, but this was an opportune time to work on my hand and wrist dexterity while also learning that,” Burrow said. “So it was kind of the perfect storm.”
“Yeah, it’s always a challenge because the defenses that we play in this division are the best in the NFL. It’s always a physical game,” Burrow said. “We know them, they know us.”
“There hasn’t been any big rebuilds for the last five years since I’ve been in the league in this division. So we’re playing the same guys. We know each other and it’s an exciting time for this division,” Burrow continued. “If you win it, you’re usually going to be the number one or number two seed, and it’s exciting to see how it plays out. Baltimore is a team to beat. They won it last year. We won the two years before that, so we gotta get back on top.”
Burrow led the Bengals to back-to-back AFC North titles in 2021 and 2022 as he became one of the top quarterbacks in the league. He also led Cincinnati to the Super Bowl in the 2021 season after an upset of the Kansas City Chiefs. Since then, the Bengals haven’t beaten the defending champions in another postseason game.
“We'll have to wait and see. That’s what’s so exciting about the NFL. I think every year is so different,” Burrow said. “What are going to be your strong points and what are going to be your weak points until five, six weeks into the year. At the beginning you’re just trying to find yourself and the teams that find themselves the fastest are the ones that have great training camps.”
“That’s what I’m focused on, getting out to training camp and trying to get better every day. And we will focus on the Chiefs when we have to focus on ‘em. They’re week two, so I’m excited about getting ’em early this year, but we‘ll see ’em when we see ‘em,” Burrow added.
Burrow played four games against the Chiefs between the 2021 and 2022 seasons, which included the playoffs. He fared well with 732 yards passing for six touchdowns in the regular season games plus 520 yards for three touchdowns versus three interceptions in the playoff contests. The Bengals went 3–1 in those games.
Cincinnati missed the playoffs last season after Burrow went down. The Bengals finished 9-8 as backup quarterback Jake Browning tried to fill the void.
While Burrow’s absence looms large in Cincinnati whenever he lands on the sidelines, he doesn’t like top quarterback conversation. He veered from that topic while talking with Complex as he noted the plethora of top quarterbacks in the league.
“So I don’t like lists like that because I feel like it takes away from certain people’s accomplishments, and there’s not just a top five of all time. There’s not just a top five in the game right now and it can change week to week,” Burrow said.
“The guy that’s the best one Sunday isn’t going to be the best next Sunday. So many ups and downs. I just think that those lists aren’t really serving anybody.” There’ve been so many great quarterbacks that have paved the way for other great quarterbacks to come after them. So I think those lists kind of take away from that,” Burrow added.
That said, the Bengals’ results with Burrow off the field speak for itself. The Bengals have a 6–7 record without him since 2020.
“I want to be on the field for all the games,” Burrow said. “I know I’m going to play well when I’m out there. I’m at that point in my career where I’ve seen enough ball, and I know myself that I can go out there and play as well as anybody in the game.”
