A lot has changed for Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow since he took down the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2021 Super Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs and led his team all the way to the Super Bowl in just his second professional season.
Not only has he dealt with numerous debilitating injuries, but organizationally, the Bengals have failed him. Yes, they kept his core of wide receivers together, but they've failed to put together even a competent offensive line or defense since 2022.
Cincinnati is sitting at 4-9 in the 2025 NFL season, and Burrow has missed nine games during the campaign. The Bengals' defense is dead last in points allowed, and the team is 0-3 when scoring 34 points or more. Things are bad for Burrow and the crew.
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So bad that Burrow took to the podium and Wednesday and, admirably, spilled his guts to the local media. It was a brutally honest moment for the 29-year-old quarterback, but it certainly begs a few important questions.
"If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it. I've been through a lot, and if it's not fun, then what am I doing it for?" Burrow said. "I've been through more than most. It's certainly not easy on the brain or the body, so I'm just trying to have fun doing it again. ... There's a lot of things going on right now. Lot of things going on right now."
As much as fans can respect this moment of vulnerability from Burrow, the Bengals' front office is probably in a panic. It's never a good thing when your franchise player is publicly questioning if he wants to keep doing "this," whatever "this" means, and implies that he is not having fun.
On ESPN's Get Up, NFL insider Adam Schefter expressed his thoughts on Burrow's polarizing comments.
"That's a contemplative, reflective, thoughtful Joe Burrow, who still is processing where he's at this season and how he wants to proceed. The quote is, 'If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it.' If you're raising that question at the end of the year, then there is a major issue going on in his mind and in that organization," Schefter said. "I would think he probably hasn't felt supported. The offensive line has not protected him. The defense has failed him. The personnel has not been good around him, and it is within Joe Burrow's right to say and do whatever he wants. He will have a huge say in whether he wants to keep playing, whether he wants to keep playing in Cincinnati. I can tell you this: there were other teams around the league that took notice of that."
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Schefter is just as plugged in as anyone when it comes to the NFL, and hopefully, one of the teams that he is talking about is the Raiders. Can you imagine if Joe Burrow came to Las Vegas? An actual bona fide superstar quarterback who has won in the postseason and been to a Super Bowl?
Not just a Band-Aid at the most important position in the sport? Obviously, the fan base has been pretty dead set on drafting a rookie quarterback. But that was without the knowledge that Burrow could be available. ESPN's Dan Orlovsky certainly thinks the Raiders should pursue the Bengals' star.
"It's the beginning of the end for Joe Burrow in Cincinnati. The organization has absolutely failed him," Orlovsky said. "If I'm the Jets, if I'm the Raiders, if I'm the Vikings, if I'm the Steelers, I am figuring out a way, coming off of what happened just yesterday, getting together and saying, 'How do we get Joe Burrow? How do we start the process of making Joe Burrow our quarterback? Because he obviously no longer wants to be in Cincinnati."
Trading for Burrow would obviously cost a lot for Las Vegas. Likely in the ballpark of at least two first-round picks and a third-rounder, or maybe a player like Tre Tucker or Michael Mayer. Unfortunately, the Raiders don't have much to trade on defense or the offensive line, which Cincinnati needs.
But Schefter simply believes that all it would take for a trade to occur is for Burrow to tell the organization that he wants to leave, and he would get to choose his destination. Obviously, the Raiders aren't that optimal, but the team would have a fighting chance.
With Brock Bowers, Ashton Jeanty and a handful of promising young wideouts, as well as plenty of money to spend in the offseason to fortify the offensive line and defense, Burrow could be lured to Las Vegas. The allure of the franchise, despite all of its losses, is still very much alive.
This is where minority Tom Brady comes in as well. If the greatest quarterback of all time can touch base with Burrow and instill confidence in him that the Raiders are the place for him to be, the place to revitalize his career, the place to have fun again, then Burrow could perhaps buy in.
It's not likely, but if Las Vegas screws up its chance to take a top quarterback in April's draft, then Burrow should be the apple of their eye. Honestly, there might not be a price too high for a transformational, certified franchise player like Burrow.