Joe Burrow has been probably the biggest threat for Patrick Mahomes in the AFC. The Bengals’ quarterback leads the head to head 3-1 and, just two years ago, Cincinnati stopped the Kansas City Chiefs with a thrilling 27-24 win on the road in the playoffs.
Although Josh Allen has the most marketable rivalry with Mahomes, the truth is only two names have been able to beat Pat in elimination games. Burrow and Tom Brady.
However, due to a surprising wrist injury, Joe Burrow couldn’t fight last season for another Super Bowl. Now, just weeks before the start of preseason, the former player of LSU sent a pessimistic message.
Joe Burrow fears NFL retirement due to injuries
If Joe Burrow stays healthy, the Cincinnati Bengals should be contenders to win the AFC North and a very dangerous team in the playoffs. The big problem is that the quarterback might be losing confidence in his body.
“Whenever the injuries start to stack up, your football mortality kind of comes into the back of your mind. So, that’s definitely something I’ve thought about and something I have had to fight through.”
Considering this scenario, Burrow admitted there’s a different approach for him at Bengals’ camp. “That’s something we’re being more proactive about this year. We don’t have to be ready to go in the middle of June. We have to be ready to go early September through February. That’s how we’re attacking this offseason and this rehab plan and these practices and training camp. We’re attacking it like I want to be out there playing in February.”
Joe Burrow acknowledged that he is working to be stronger mentally as injuries have become the enemy. “You always forget how hard it is coming back from injury. There’s always peaks where you’re like, ‘I’m feeling great,’ and then a couple of months later you have a couple of days where it’s like, ‘Man, I’m not feeling that great.’ In the past I pushed through that and caused problems for myself, and this year I’m not doing that.”