Joe Burrow is here and he's here for the long haul.
Seriously, those are his words. The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback's future has been routinely question for some time, but Burrow did his best to quiet the concerns with just days left before the team kicks off the season.
“I’m here for the long haul," Burrow said in an exclusive interview with the Bengals official site's Geoff Hobson. "I’m not going anywhere. I’m just trying to bring a now-or-never mentality to the day-by-day process. If you’re not, what are you doing?"
Burrow expressed the need to attack each day with a "championship mindset" and added, "the rest will take care of itself."
The quarterback made headlines
earlier in the offseason by saying this season is "now or never" for the Bengals. It didn't take long for the rumors to swirl surrounding Burrow's future, especially given the team's performance in recent seasons.
Burrow told Hobson that because he is "efficient" with his words, that left room for interpretation. However, he attempted to leave no doubt with his latest comments.
“I’m just really proud to be quarterback of the Bengals," Burrow said.
"I’m happy to be here. I’m proud to represent the city of Cincinnati, state of Ohio, the Brown family. I’m just proud and I want to make everybody else proud, too.”
Bengals defense revamped
The Bengals made significant changes to the roster during the offseason, headlined by the trade for Dexter Lawrence II to revamp a defense that was in desperate need of a makeover.
It's all with the goal of reaching the Super Bowl again, a place they haven't been since losing Super Bowl 56 to the Los Angeles Rams to conclude the 2021 season.
Cincinnati's issues have primarily involved the defense in the years since, but that isn't the only one. Burrow has led the team to a 31-20 record in 51 starts over the last four seasons, making the Bengals one of the league's best when the star quarterback is under center.
Except Burrow has been plagued by injuries in that time as well, missing 16 games in the last three seasons. The Bengals are just 5-11 in those games.
An improved defense and some better injury luck for the star quarterback might be enough to make the team a contender in a crowded AFC.
It will be a team effort to get the Bengals back to the top. At the very least, they don't have to worry about the captain leaving anytime soon.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joe Burrow addresses Bengals future and being 'here for the long haul'
