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Bengals QB Joe Burrow admits his football mortality relies on something he can’t entirely control

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By John Sheeran | Last updated Jun 21, 2025 1:22 PM ET

The Cincinnati Bengals would love nothing more than for Joe Burrow to play another decade of quarterback for the club that drafted him. Burrow is entering the peak of his powers at 28 years old, and in order for that peak to last well within his 30s, staying upright becomes more and more critical as the years go by.

Burrow isn't the most sacked QB in franchise history by volume, but he will be at the rate he's been taken down through six seasons. He's incurred an average of 2.96 sacks per game in his career, and he feels all the contact that isn't listed on the traditional box score as well.

Eventually, the pendulum has to swing the other way. Continuing to pile up hits and blows with two season-ending injuries already on Burrow's resume will only increase the risk of suffering another one; the long-term view of his remaining career becoming blurrier.

It's a reality he recognizes, as is winning games by any means necessary, even when he's forced to put his body on the line to make up for shortcomings elsewhere.

Joe Burrow's balance between aggressive and conservative

Some of Burrow's greatest plays have featured him holding the ball until the last second before putting himself at the mercy of a would-be sacker. For the sake of putting up points in a must-score situation, Burrow has never been shy of taking one for the team.

He still has to wake up the next morning in the same body.

"Yeah, as you get older, you realize those hits definitely add up a little bit," Burrow admitted during minicamp. "Like I said, I'd love to take less, but you know, see how games play out."

It's a different topic when you're 25 and taking the league by storm. Burrow was notably sacked 19 times during Cincinnati's postseason run to Super Bowl LVI, including seven takedowns by the Tennessee Titans in the Divisional Round.

Bruises, sprains, and another torn ligament or two the following three years changes your perspective a bit.

Burrow wants to keep things cleaner like any QB would at this point in his career. The challenge isn't taking fewer hits, but knowing when to put yourself at greater risk.

"If we're in defensive battles, then you come out and you don't turn the ball over, you get the ball out of your hands, you play the field position game," Burrow explained. "If they're scoring, then you go try to make plays, and run around and do all those good things. I go into every single game ready to adapt to whatever the game needs for me to try to win."

We've reached the most significant dynamic the Bengals have dealt with in a long time.

The Bengals' top priority this year is to improve defensively after the unit cratered their playoff chances last season. Pairing a better defense with one of the best offenses in the game can make Cincinnati a playoff team again, and it can also help protect Burrow from himself.

The fewer games Burrow has to outscore his own defense's incompetence, which is what had to happen for about half of the 2024 season, the fewer games he'll feel compelled to play hero ball and make himself more susceptible to hits and sacks.

For a person with more control than most people in the state of Ohio, Burrow unfortunately can't control what kind of game he needs to play to win. It's all dependent on if the other side of the ball handles its job.

This isn't to say Burrow is free to take unnecessary sacks in any and all scenarios, or to sacrifice explosive plays when they're available. Every game will come with its own nuances, requiring the surplus of instinctual power he possesses.

If the Bengals want the version of Burrow who isn't pondering his football mortality with the amount of contact he's endured after six years, they'll need to fortify the circumstances out of his control so he can optimize what he can control.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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