December 13, 2025 • 12 mins
Burrow's Bengals Commitment: Ja'Marr Chase Sees No Change
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the deep Dive. Today, we are taking a
single sentence uttered by a star quarterback, Joe Burrow, and
we're going to use it as a launch pad, a
way to explore the extreme pressures, the physical costs, and
really the psychological toll of playing elite professional.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Football, especially when a season just goes completely fied ways.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Exactly, we're dissecting a snippet of commentary that instantly became
well a front page crisis. It launched one thousand trade
speculation rumors across the entire league.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
That's right, and the core of it, the sentiment that
just spread like wildfire. It comes from an ESPN article
from just a couple of days ago, December twelve, twenty
twenty five. It's this moment of pure introspection from Burrow.
He said, and this is the quote. If I want
to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
And then he follows it up with this really loaded question.
If it's not fun, then what am I doing it for?
So our mission today is to dig into all of
that context, the four nine record, the injury history, and
then piece together the reactions from people who know him,
like Jamar Chase even Joe Flack go.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
And crucially, we have to explain why a single sort
of philosophical quote from a player who is locked down
by a massive contract has every other NFL team suddenly
paying attention, paying attention. Okay, so let's unpack this because
the sheer volume of that reaction it suggested immediate disaster.
(01:20):
The narrative, at least in the quick takes, was that
Burrow was sour on the Bengals.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Yeah, that he was ready to check out, maybe even
looking for an exit.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
But the sources we have, they reveal this fascinating dissonance
between that public idea and the reality inside the locker room,
especially when you look at his closest confidant.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
You absolutely have to start with Jamar Chase. He is
the ultimate insider here. I mean when we talk about
their history, it's not just five seasons in the NFL.
These guys won a national championship together at LSU. They
are completely intertwined professionally and personal.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
So what did he say?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Well, when Chase first heard the snippet going around, his
reaction wasn't you know, confirmation, It was disbelief. He actually
had to ask the reporters, did this really happen though.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Just that question did this really happen? That speaks volumes.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
It really does.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
It's more than just skepticism. It feels almost like denial,
which right there it frames the tension for us. The
public is seeing a philosophical crisis, a potential crack in
the foundation of the team.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Right.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
But the guy who sees Burrow every single day in
the trenches preparing, he sees the exact same dedicated.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Worker, and based on the detailed accounts, it really reads
like genuine bewilderment from Chase, not damage control.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
So it's not a calculated pr.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Move, doesn't seem like it. Chase confirmed that Burrow seems
the same every day he said, comes to work, ready
to play, comes to practice, the same guy.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Yeah, and maybe the most powerful part, Chase stress there
is no negativity in the building from him.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Even with everything going on, the cold, the snow, the
losing record, the dedication is still there, exactly.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
The physical effort hasn't flagged, no matter what what's going
on with the emotional questioning.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
So we're really dealing with a very specific kind of
reflection here, aren't we.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
It's not about slacking off or giving up it's about
having this existential question while you're still maintaining that top
tier professional dedication that.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Has to be exhausting, just an exhausting dual life to live.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
It is, and it's why Chase, even as he's defending Burrow,
ultimately had to kind of create some distance from the
quote itself.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
He did. He started by affirming to me he loves football,
so he's confirming that core belief in Burrow's passion. But
then he draws that undeniable line. He says, but that's
a hymn question. I can't answer that for him at
the end of the day.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
And that's the critical distinction right there. Chase can confirm
the action, the dedication, the work ethic, but he can't
confirm the emotional satisfaction that Burrow is getting from it
right now.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
And that uncertainty, that little bit of space he creates,
that's the gasoline that's fueling all this external speculation.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
That emotional uncertainty brings us right to the conc cree
realities that prompted this whole thing. I mean, that quote
didn't just appear at a vacuum.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
No, it dropped out a point of maximum professional and
physical frustration.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
We have to dive into the why behind this feeling
of a grind.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
And the on field reality was just brutal. When Burrow
came back to play in Week thirteen, the Bengals were
already three to eight. Any playoff hopes, which were sky
high at the start of the season were pretty much gone, and.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Then the loss to the Buffalo Bills made it official,
pushed them to four nine.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Which ensures the team will have a losing record for
the first time since his rookie season back in twenty twenty.
For a competitor like him whose whole career is defined
by winning, that kind of disappointment is it's a crushing.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Weight, and you have to layer the physical cost right
on top of that disappointing record. His injury history provides
such essential context for why he's even asking if the
sacrifice is worth it.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
It's not just bad luck.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
No, it's a cumulative toll.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
It is an astronomical toll. This season was a third
time he's been placed on injured reserve because of a
serious season altering injury.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
We all remember the knee in twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
And the wrist in twenty twenty three, But what makes
this current turf toe injury so unique and probably so
psychologically taxing. Is the timeline. He misses nine games, but
this is the first time he's been able to have
a surgical procedure and come back to play in the
same season.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
That's a huge distinction that I think is easy to overlook.
We're talking about intense, grueling, mid season physical therapy, not
just healing, but working relentlessly to get back onto a
field for.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
A cause that's already lost or a cause.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
That has already lost. You go through all that pain,
all that mental fortitude, only to return to more losses
and a guaranteed losing season.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
The psychological burden of that is just immense. You're putting
your body through a tremendous amount of stress, and all
the while you're watching your window for contention just shrink down.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
To zero, Which is where his full statement becomes so revealing.
He was very clear, wasn't he?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Oh? Very He said the lack of winning was a
agor contributor to his disposition, and he also mentioned things
in his private life, and of course the team's on
field performance.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
This whole idea of the grind, Yeah, it's perfectly summarized.
By the veteran perspective from Joe Flacco.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Yeah, the backup quarterback.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Flacco has been around, He's won a super Bowl, He's
seen it all. What was his takeaway from this?
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Flacco gave a real veteran assessment. He acknowledged that losing
without a doubt takes a toll. He called it a
part of the test that football gives you.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
So he's framing it as a challenge.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
He's basically framing the process of losing as the thing
that turns the joy of the game into a raw,
hard grind.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
And what's fascinating there is the contrast right right. Flacco,
the season vet. He's seen the whole spectrum. He knows
how to weather that storm.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Absolutely. Flacco has played long enough to just accept the
grind as part of the job description.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
But Burrow, the young superstar, maybe he hasn't learned that
yet because his entire identity up to now has been
validated by winning.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
His definition of funds seems to be intrinsically tied to
competing at a championship level.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Yes, for Burrow, the grind is only tolerable when it
leads to a cigar and an AFC North title. When
fuel the winning is gone, the sacrifice suddenly feels heavier,
it feels more costly, and that question.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
What am I doing this for?
Speaker 2 (07:18):
It becomes unavoidable.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
So if that's the internal feeling, let's pivot hard to
the external implications. Why did this one comment, which is
really just a reflection of human fatigue? Why did it
generate such intense league wide attention when the guy is
under lock and key.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
It all comes down to standard and expectation. Joe Burrow's
entire career has operated at the championship level.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
It defines him high school LSU.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
High School in Ohio, leading LSU to the title and
then single handedly reviving the Bengals from what a decade
of stagnation. He has always been in the hunt for championships.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
With this four to nine situation is just it's completely
inconsistent with his competitive DNA.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Entirely, and that contrast couldn't be starker. The sources, they
deliberately remind us of those old Bengals locker room scenes,
you know, after he won back to back division titles
in twenty one and twenty two.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
The image of him holding the cigar, wrapping the words
to that future.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Song codeine crazy.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Yeah, that image was an indelible symbol of pure joy
and absolute success.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
That's what professional fun looks like for him exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
And the current mood, this reflective, questioning state. It's a
far far cry from that celebratory defiance. And the rest
of the league they understand that gap. They see a
foundational player whose competitive identity is being scarved.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Okay, let's talk brass tacks here. M the contract, because
this is the elephant in the room that should legally
shut all the speculation down.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
It should.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
He has at least four years left on that colossal
two hundred and fifty five million dollar extension he signed
in twenty twenty three, and critically, it includes a no trade.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Clause, the ultimate protection.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
This should tether him to Cincinnati, right, it should make
all these trade whispers totally irrelevant.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
That is the conventional wisdom. Yes, but this is where
you have to look at the power dynamics in pro sports.
The contract locks him in and that no trade clause
gives him the ultimate veto power.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
But the mere mention of dissatisfaction from a quarterback of
his caliber, it just changes the dynamic across the entire league.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
So why do they care? What are they paying attention to? Exactly?
If they can't trade for him.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
They're paying attention because star dissatisfaction, even when a player
is under contract, is leverage. It's a signal. The consensus
around the league, and this was highlighted in Adam Schefter's
reporting for ESPN, is that teams are monitoring this because
they know that eventually that emotional toll could translate into action,
even if it's years from now.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
So the no trade clause isn't just a shield for
the team.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
No, it's also a negotiating weapon for him. If a
star player decides he is truly done, that he's stopped
having fun, he can make life incredibly difficult.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
For an organization and eventually force their hand.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Eventually, Yeah, you can or a handshake deal to a
place you want to go, or you just make the
team so miserable that they finally agree to move on.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
So the message isn't he's getting treaded tomorrow. The message
is we need to keep this guy on our radar
because if this losing continues for another season or two seasons.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
The Bengals may eventually have no choice but to listen,
it's an investment in a future possibility exactly.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
It's about being in position for the day that Burrow
decides that his competitive fire can only be maintained in
a winning environment.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Right. He says he's aiming to have fun over these
last four games, But for him, the idea of fun
and the idea of championship contention really seem to be
two sides of the very same coin.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Okay, So to synthesize our deep dive, we have Joe Burrow,
a hyper dedicated championship level quarterback who is really, for
the first time in his professional life, publicly reflecting on
the massive cost of the game when success.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Isn't there, right, especially after this latest serious injury. He
is committed to the team, we know that, but he
is questioning the value of the grind when that championship
result is missing.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
And this reflection is coming at such a critical.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Time, a very critical time. The Bengals are facing official
elimination from the playoffs for the third straight season if
they lose this Sunday, and this whole situation forces us
to look beyond the scoreboard and really consider what drives
these elite athletes. We have established pretty clearly that not
winning is what contributes directly to that heavy grind.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Which brings us right back to that initial provocative sentiment
from him. If championship level performance is what defines fun
for a competitor like Joe Burrow, if that success is
the prerequisite for his job satisfaction, does that standard inherently
make winning a necessity rather than just a goal for
(11:46):
his long term career happiness.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
It totally shifts the definition of success. It moves from
being an external achievement the team shares to an internal
requirement for one player's professional longevity. It's something for you
to mull over as you watch how this all plays
out over the rest of the season, and really how
the Bengals organization handles their star quarterbacks. Very public and
very real vulnerability.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
A perfect place to leave it. Thank you for diving
deep with us today.
Welcome to the deep Dive. Today, we are taking a
single sentence uttered by a star quarterback, Joe Burrow, and
we're going to use it as a launch pad, a
way to explore the extreme pressures, the physical costs, and
really the psychological toll of playing elite professional.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Football, especially when a season just goes completely fied ways.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Exactly, we're dissecting a snippet of commentary that instantly became
well a front page crisis. It launched one thousand trade
speculation rumors across the entire league.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
That's right, and the core of it, the sentiment that
just spread like wildfire. It comes from an ESPN article
from just a couple of days ago, December twelve, twenty
twenty five. It's this moment of pure introspection from Burrow.
He said, and this is the quote. If I want
to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
And then he follows it up with this really loaded question.
If it's not fun, then what am I doing it for?
So our mission today is to dig into all of
that context, the four nine record, the injury history, and
then piece together the reactions from people who know him,
like Jamar Chase even Joe Flack go.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
And crucially, we have to explain why a single sort
of philosophical quote from a player who is locked down
by a massive contract has every other NFL team suddenly
paying attention, paying attention. Okay, so let's unpack this because
the sheer volume of that reaction it suggested immediate disaster.
(01:20):
The narrative, at least in the quick takes, was that
Burrow was sour on the Bengals.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Yeah, that he was ready to check out, maybe even
looking for an exit.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
But the sources we have, they reveal this fascinating dissonance
between that public idea and the reality inside the locker room,
especially when you look at his closest confidant.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
You absolutely have to start with Jamar Chase. He is
the ultimate insider here. I mean when we talk about
their history, it's not just five seasons in the NFL.
These guys won a national championship together at LSU. They
are completely intertwined professionally and personal.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
So what did he say?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Well, when Chase first heard the snippet going around, his
reaction wasn't you know, confirmation, It was disbelief. He actually
had to ask the reporters, did this really happen though.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Just that question did this really happen? That speaks volumes.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
It really does.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
It's more than just skepticism. It feels almost like denial,
which right there it frames the tension for us. The
public is seeing a philosophical crisis, a potential crack in
the foundation of the team.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Right.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
But the guy who sees Burrow every single day in
the trenches preparing, he sees the exact same dedicated.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Worker, and based on the detailed accounts, it really reads
like genuine bewilderment from Chase, not damage control.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
So it's not a calculated pr.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Move, doesn't seem like it. Chase confirmed that Burrow seems
the same every day he said, comes to work, ready
to play, comes to practice, the same guy.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Yeah, and maybe the most powerful part, Chase stress there
is no negativity in the building from him.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Even with everything going on, the cold, the snow, the
losing record, the dedication is still there, exactly.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
The physical effort hasn't flagged, no matter what what's going
on with the emotional questioning.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
So we're really dealing with a very specific kind of
reflection here, aren't we.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
It's not about slacking off or giving up it's about
having this existential question while you're still maintaining that top
tier professional dedication that.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Has to be exhausting, just an exhausting dual life to live.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
It is, and it's why Chase, even as he's defending Burrow,
ultimately had to kind of create some distance from the
quote itself.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
He did. He started by affirming to me he loves football,
so he's confirming that core belief in Burrow's passion. But
then he draws that undeniable line. He says, but that's
a hymn question. I can't answer that for him at
the end of the day.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
And that's the critical distinction right there. Chase can confirm
the action, the dedication, the work ethic, but he can't
confirm the emotional satisfaction that Burrow is getting from it
right now.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
And that uncertainty, that little bit of space he creates,
that's the gasoline that's fueling all this external speculation.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
That emotional uncertainty brings us right to the conc cree
realities that prompted this whole thing. I mean, that quote
didn't just appear at a vacuum.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
No, it dropped out a point of maximum professional and
physical frustration.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
We have to dive into the why behind this feeling
of a grind.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
And the on field reality was just brutal. When Burrow
came back to play in Week thirteen, the Bengals were
already three to eight. Any playoff hopes, which were sky
high at the start of the season were pretty much gone, and.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Then the loss to the Buffalo Bills made it official,
pushed them to four nine.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Which ensures the team will have a losing record for
the first time since his rookie season back in twenty twenty.
For a competitor like him whose whole career is defined
by winning, that kind of disappointment is it's a crushing.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Weight, and you have to layer the physical cost right
on top of that disappointing record. His injury history provides
such essential context for why he's even asking if the
sacrifice is worth it.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
It's not just bad luck.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
No, it's a cumulative toll.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
It is an astronomical toll. This season was a third
time he's been placed on injured reserve because of a
serious season altering injury.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
We all remember the knee in twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
And the wrist in twenty twenty three, But what makes
this current turf toe injury so unique and probably so
psychologically taxing. Is the timeline. He misses nine games, but
this is the first time he's been able to have
a surgical procedure and come back to play in the
same season.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
That's a huge distinction that I think is easy to overlook.
We're talking about intense, grueling, mid season physical therapy, not
just healing, but working relentlessly to get back onto a
field for.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
A cause that's already lost or a cause.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
That has already lost. You go through all that pain,
all that mental fortitude, only to return to more losses
and a guaranteed losing season.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
The psychological burden of that is just immense. You're putting
your body through a tremendous amount of stress, and all
the while you're watching your window for contention just shrink down.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
To zero, Which is where his full statement becomes so revealing.
He was very clear, wasn't he?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Oh? Very He said the lack of winning was a
agor contributor to his disposition, and he also mentioned things
in his private life, and of course the team's on
field performance.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
This whole idea of the grind, Yeah, it's perfectly summarized.
By the veteran perspective from Joe Flacco.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Yeah, the backup quarterback.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Flacco has been around, He's won a super Bowl, He's
seen it all. What was his takeaway from this?
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Flacco gave a real veteran assessment. He acknowledged that losing
without a doubt takes a toll. He called it a
part of the test that football gives you.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
So he's framing it as a challenge.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
He's basically framing the process of losing as the thing
that turns the joy of the game into a raw,
hard grind.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
And what's fascinating there is the contrast right right. Flacco,
the season vet. He's seen the whole spectrum. He knows
how to weather that storm.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Absolutely. Flacco has played long enough to just accept the
grind as part of the job description.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
But Burrow, the young superstar, maybe he hasn't learned that
yet because his entire identity up to now has been
validated by winning.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
His definition of funds seems to be intrinsically tied to
competing at a championship level.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Yes, for Burrow, the grind is only tolerable when it
leads to a cigar and an AFC North title. When
fuel the winning is gone, the sacrifice suddenly feels heavier,
it feels more costly, and that question.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
What am I doing this for?
Speaker 2 (07:18):
It becomes unavoidable.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
So if that's the internal feeling, let's pivot hard to
the external implications. Why did this one comment, which is
really just a reflection of human fatigue? Why did it
generate such intense league wide attention when the guy is
under lock and key.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
It all comes down to standard and expectation. Joe Burrow's
entire career has operated at the championship level.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
It defines him high school LSU.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
High School in Ohio, leading LSU to the title and
then single handedly reviving the Bengals from what a decade
of stagnation. He has always been in the hunt for championships.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
With this four to nine situation is just it's completely
inconsistent with his competitive DNA.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Entirely, and that contrast couldn't be starker. The sources, they
deliberately remind us of those old Bengals locker room scenes,
you know, after he won back to back division titles
in twenty one and twenty two.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
The image of him holding the cigar, wrapping the words
to that future.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Song codeine crazy.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Yeah, that image was an indelible symbol of pure joy
and absolute success.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
That's what professional fun looks like for him exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
And the current mood, this reflective, questioning state. It's a
far far cry from that celebratory defiance. And the rest
of the league they understand that gap. They see a
foundational player whose competitive identity is being scarved.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Okay, let's talk brass tacks here. M the contract, because
this is the elephant in the room that should legally
shut all the speculation down.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
It should.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
He has at least four years left on that colossal
two hundred and fifty five million dollar extension he signed
in twenty twenty three, and critically, it includes a no trade.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Clause, the ultimate protection.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
This should tether him to Cincinnati, right, it should make
all these trade whispers totally irrelevant.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
That is the conventional wisdom. Yes, but this is where
you have to look at the power dynamics in pro sports.
The contract locks him in and that no trade clause
gives him the ultimate veto power.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
But the mere mention of dissatisfaction from a quarterback of
his caliber, it just changes the dynamic across the entire league.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
So why do they care? What are they paying attention to? Exactly?
If they can't trade for him.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
They're paying attention because star dissatisfaction, even when a player
is under contract, is leverage. It's a signal. The consensus
around the league, and this was highlighted in Adam Schefter's
reporting for ESPN, is that teams are monitoring this because
they know that eventually that emotional toll could translate into action,
even if it's years from now.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
So the no trade clause isn't just a shield for
the team.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
No, it's also a negotiating weapon for him. If a
star player decides he is truly done, that he's stopped
having fun, he can make life incredibly difficult.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
For an organization and eventually force their hand.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Eventually, Yeah, you can or a handshake deal to a
place you want to go, or you just make the
team so miserable that they finally agree to move on.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
So the message isn't he's getting treaded tomorrow. The message
is we need to keep this guy on our radar
because if this losing continues for another season or two seasons.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
The Bengals may eventually have no choice but to listen,
it's an investment in a future possibility exactly.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
It's about being in position for the day that Burrow
decides that his competitive fire can only be maintained in
a winning environment.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Right. He says he's aiming to have fun over these
last four games, But for him, the idea of fun
and the idea of championship contention really seem to be
two sides of the very same coin.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Okay, So to synthesize our deep dive, we have Joe Burrow,
a hyper dedicated championship level quarterback who is really, for
the first time in his professional life, publicly reflecting on
the massive cost of the game when success.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Isn't there, right, especially after this latest serious injury. He
is committed to the team, we know that, but he
is questioning the value of the grind when that championship
result is missing.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
And this reflection is coming at such a critical.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Time, a very critical time. The Bengals are facing official
elimination from the playoffs for the third straight season if
they lose this Sunday, and this whole situation forces us
to look beyond the scoreboard and really consider what drives
these elite athletes. We have established pretty clearly that not
winning is what contributes directly to that heavy grind.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Which brings us right back to that initial provocative sentiment
from him. If championship level performance is what defines fun
for a competitor like Joe Burrow, if that success is
the prerequisite for his job satisfaction, does that standard inherently
make winning a necessity rather than just a goal for
(11:46):
his long term career happiness.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
It totally shifts the definition of success. It moves from
being an external achievement the team shares to an internal
requirement for one player's professional longevity. It's something for you
to mull over as you watch how this all plays
out over the rest of the season, and really how
the Bengals organization handles their star quarterbacks. Very public and
very real vulnerability.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
A perfect place to leave it. Thank you for diving
deep with us today.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.