Joe Burrow would like to silence all of the noise that has surrounded him and his team since the end of the 2025 season.
For months, Burrow has been the subject of conversations among national and local pundits who cover the NFL. The speculation around Burrow’s future with the Bengals has been at an all-time high.
Is Joe Burrow happy in Cincinnati?
If the Bengals don’t make the playoffs this year, will Joe Burrow request a trade out of Cincinnati?
Those questions have been talking points in the NFL media landscape for a while now.
So much so that ESPN’s Dan Orlovksy, a former NFL quarterback who is now a popular TV analyst, took Burrow’s comments early in the preseason saying this is the year for the Bengals to win it all as a message sent to put
everyone on notice.
“Win or I’m out,” Orlovsky posted in response to Burrow’s viral comments about manifesting a Super Bowl season for the Bengals to enforce urgency inside the walls of Paycor Stadium.
Win or I’m out. https://t.co/DiWViQarMR
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) August 20, 2026
It’s why his comments about wanting to be in Cincinnati for the “long haul” this week were noteworthy. Burrow addressed his quote to set the record straight.
“It was never a question in my mind,” Burrow said Sept. 9. “I didn't necessarily think about, you know, stamping that in that moment. That's just how I feel. I am where my feet are, and I try to attack every day with championship mindset, like I said before. And you know I love it here. I love everything about this place. So, we're going to make it work.”
Burrow is rejuvenated. He’s healthy. And more importantly, he’s excited and engaged at a different level.
Three years of missing the playoffs and the fact that he’s endured several injuries have taxed Burrow more than he imagined. Burrow has never shied away from saying how hard the last few years in Cincinnati have been for him personally.
Facing what could be a make-or-break season for Bengals coach Zac Taylor and months of outside scrutinity from players, fans and commentators, Cincinnati’s ownership and front office made a valiant effort to improve the roster ahead of the 2026 season.
The Bengals made a historic move in trading their first-round pick in this year’s draft to the New York Giants to acquire Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. They also signed three starters in free agency on the defensive side of the ball in Boye Mafe, Bryan Cook and Jonathan Allen. All three players bring a leadership element the team sorely missed last season.
Cincinnati returns all of its starters on the offensive side of the ball. There’s not much more Burrow could ask of his team. And it’s why he’s putting the pressure on himself and his teammates to now turn all of the talk into action.
“I think it's obvious that everybody in the organization wants to win and is willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen from the top down,” Burrow said. “And I just try to attack every day with the same mindset that everybody upstairs does. That’s the fact that they just want to win.”
Burrow’s not on social media much during the football season. He’s extremely regimented with his schedule and tries to limit distractions. But he’s also human and can’t ignore everyone and everything that surrounds him – good or bad.
He’s seen or heard most of it but has learned to not let it affect him. An important skill for a person who’s become as popular as he has globally.
“There's nothing that I've taken particular offense to,” Burrow said. “That's the life that we live. I'm very efficient with my words, and so that leaves a lot of room for interpretation sometimes, and that's fine.”
Burrow is entering his seventh and arguably most important season in the NFL. He needs to stay healthy and play well for the Bengals to get back to contending for a Lombardi Trophy.
With the star power the Bengals have on offense this year, Burrow has become a top betting favorite to win the NFL’s MVP. DraftKings gives Burrow the third-best odds to win the award.
Winning the Super Bowl is the goal Burrow is singularly focused on. But he knows rarely is an MVP awarded to a quarterback who’s not playing in mid-January. It all goes together and won’t be a possibility if his team doesn’t make the most of what has the makings to be a special season in Cincinnati.
“The thing about early season predictions is that you can predict just about anything you want and you never know if it’s going to be true or not,” he said. “You can make a lot of predictions right now. None of it really matters until about Week 9 or 10.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Joe Burrow sets record straight on his desire to play for the Bengals
