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Joe Burrow stunned the football world last week after making worrying comments about his long-term commitment to playing professional football.
Burrow entered the league in 2020 but suffered numerous injuries during his budding career. He tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee during his rookie season, suffered a torn ligament in his right wrist in 2023 and missed several games this season with a turf toe injury.
“If I’m going to keep doing this, I have to have fun. I’ve been through a lot and if it’s not fun, why am I doing it? So that’s the mindset I try to bring to the table,” Burrow said.
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LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron celebrates with quarterback Joe Burrow after a victory against the Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoff national championship game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. (Matthew Emmons/Imagn Images)
There are sure to be ups and downs throughout a football career, but the comments surprised even Burrow’s former coach, Ed Orgeron.
“I’ve never heard Joe talk like that, so it struck me, yeah,” Orgeron said in a recent interview with PK Press Club Digital. “But Joe is going to bounce back. Joe is a fighter. He might have had a bad day, so maybe someone said something to him that made him angry along the way. I don’t know, but I think he’s a fighter and I think he’s got a lot of football left in him. I think he’s going to fight to the end.”
Orgeron and Burrow will be forever attached, as Burrow transferred to Orgeron’s LSU and went on to win the Heisman Trophy and a national championship on one of the greatest college football teams of all time. He parlayed all of that into becoming the No. 1 overall pick five years ago and landing a lucrative NFL contract.
But Orgeron said he didn’t want to hang on to his former quarterback unless he felt the need to.
LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron (left) with quarterback Joe Burrow after defeating the Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoff national championship game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports)
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“I think if I feel like I need to contact him, I will. But I know there’s probably 25, 30 people who saw this, a million who wanted to call them, 25 or 30 who are very close to him and maybe contacted him. But if the time comes, when we need to talk, if he needs me, I’ll always be there,” he said.
“I text him every once in a while. I’m not one to hang on my players’ tails. I wish him luck. We text maybe twice a year, but if I texted him right now and he wasn’t practicing, he’d text me back in 30 seconds.”
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) leaves the field after an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Cincinnati, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
Burrow’s Cincinnati Bengals were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday after being shut out at home by the Baltimore Ravens. Burrow was 25 of 39 for 225 yards and two interceptions in the 24-0 loss.
