After years of disappointment, Joe Burrow has his sights set on one thing: finally getting the Cincinnati Bengals their long-awaited championship.
"I'm trying to put it out into the world, I'm trying to manifest it, I'm trying to show our guys the urgency that I have and that I want us to have as an organization to go and make it happen," Burrow said in a press conference on Thursday.
The Bengals’ starting quarterback, whose Super Bowl dreams have been dashed by injuries, poor records and close postseason losses, shared his naked ambition to not wait any longer to make it happen.
Burrow said. "You can keep pushing it down the road, or you can talk about it now and say this is the year.
"You know, I'm tired of saying, 'Next year, next year, next year.' This is it," he continued. "Life is too short to keep pushing things down the road, and I'm trying to instill some urgency and some intensity in everybody to go and be great every day and try to go make it happen."
When asked if the Bengals’ chance to win a Super Bowl was "now or never," Burrow concurred.
"That's how I'm treating it, for sure," Burrow said.
Burrow is under contract with Cincinnati through 2029 after signing a five-year, $275 million extension with the team in 2023. He and the Bengals reportedly agreed to a restructured deal in June to free up $10 million in cap space.
Cincinnati is one of 12 NFL teams that has never won the Super Bowl, despite three appearances in the final.
Burrow's determination is notable given the stops and starts that have dictated his career, which the 29-year-old has spent exclusively with the Bengals. A series of unfortunate injuries have also led to resurgent seasons, including two Comeback Player of the Year awards (2021 and 2024).
After Burrow's rookie year in 2020 was cut short by a brutal ACL and MCL tear, he led Cincinnati to the Super Bowl in his next season, before they fell to the Los Angeles Rams in a three-point loss. Even with the close call, it was the first time in six years that the Bengals had made the postseason, and the first time since 1988 that Cincinnati had won the AFC.
In 2023, Burrow underwent another season-ending surgery midway through the year, this time with a ligament in his right wrist; the next year, he led the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns.
Burrow missed nearly three months last season after undergoing another surgery for turf toe, before returning to the team just before Thanksgiving. However, Cincinnati had gone 1-8 in his absence, making the season unsalvageable for the QB1.
That's been the biggest trend throughout Burrow's tenure: The Bengals simply aren't able to play well without him under center. His hunger for a championship, then, is very dependent on him staying healthy.
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