Mind readers were not required. As the Cincinnati Bengals limped across the finish line in mid-December, Joe Burrow appeared crestfallen. Another injury torpedoed another season. And considering the quarterback tends to send messages in press conferences, it was impossible not to see his sadness and think of another former No. 1 pick: Andrew Luck.
Like Luck, he was ballyhooed as a transcendent talent.
Like Luck, early playoff success was swiftly followed by a string of maddening injuries.
Luck famously walked away from the sport at age 29.
And here was Burrow, dejected on the day of his own 29th birthday.
He sounded like an employee who’s had quite enough of his employer thank you very much.
“If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it,” Burrow said. “I’ve been through a lot. If it’s not fun, then what am I doing it for?”
Asked if it’s been tough, he paused for a few dramatic seconds before saying “certainly.”
Burrow also lamented that everything he’s been through has not been easy “on the brain or the body.”
When a reporter noted that there seemed to be a lot on his mind, he was again cryptic.
“There’s a lot of things going on right now.”
Ahead of training camp, I rehashed these comments to one person close to Burrow. His answer surprised me.