Ever since it was clear that Joe Burrow was going to be the first overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft, it has been the mission of so many national media members to make it sound like Burrow shouldn’t be there.

Some called for him to pull an Eli Manning and refuse to play for Cincinnati. When he got injured in the 2020 season, many said the team was insane for drafting wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase instead of offensive line help (that resulted in a Super Bowl appearance).

Advertisement

Then it was that the team wouldn’t be able to pay Burrow. They signed him to a market-setting deal.

Then they said they wouldn’t be able to keep Chase and/or Tee Higgins, but they signed both.

Even after an offseason where Cincinnati did almost everything in their power to address the defensive struggles that derailed two straight seasons, there were people saying Burrow was giving an ultimatum prior to the season that they needed to win or he was gone.

Well, you can hear it from the man himself.

“I’m efficient with my words, and when I’m efficient with my words, that leaves some room for interpretation,” Burrow told Geoff Hobson from Bengals.com. “But I mean what I say. I’m here for the long haul. 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? Attack the day with a championship mindset. The rest will take care of itself.”

Advertisement

And there it is. Maybe some people can move on to quarterbacks who actually may be closer to leaving their teams becoming the target for five First Round picks.

Burrow didn’t want to leave any doubt, though.

“I’m just really proud to be quarterback of the Bengals,” Burrow says. “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.”

Now we can get back to talking about how good Burrow is going to be this year!