Joe Burrow Makes Cryptic Comments About His Future in the NFL as He Questions If Playing Is Still 'Fun'

NEED TO KNOW

• Joe Burrow made candid comments to the media on Wednesday, Dec. 10, his 29th birthday
• The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback questioned his love for the game
• “If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it,” Burrow said

Joe Burrow is questioning his love for the game.

The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, who returned from an early-season turf toe injury late last month, shared candid comments with the media on Wednesday, Dec. 10 — his 29th birthday — where he seemingly wondered about the meaning of it all.

“If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it,” Burrow told reporters. “You know, I’ve been through a lot and if it’s not fun then what am I doing it for. That’s the mindset I’m trying to bring to the table.”

For Burrow — who threw four touchdowns but two interceptions in a loss at snowy Highmark Stadium in Buffalo last week — a return to playing after nearly 10 weeks away has come with “reflection.”

"I’m not sure there was a singular moment or time," he said. "It’s 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 it’s certainly not easy on the brain or the body. So, just trying to have fun doing it again."

After a reporter observed that he seemed frustrated, Burrow elaborated.

“Um, there’s just a lot of things going on right now,” he shared. 

He added “All of the above,” after a reporter asked if those things were “football-related” or personal.

Off the field, the Heisman Trophy winner has been linked to Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Olivia Ponton.

Ponton was at Burrow’s Anderson Township, Ohio home when it was burglarized on Dec. 9, 2024, while the signal-caller was in Texas for a game against the Dallas Cowboys.

"I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one and way more is already out there than I would want out there and that I care to share so that's all I got to say about that," Burrow said of the crime at the time.

After sparking romance rumors a year ago, the couple has been seen on date nights from Miami to New York City since late last year.

Burrow and the 4-9 Bengals next face the 6-7 Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, Dec. 14.

Read the original article on People