It’s no surprise that Joe Burrow is doing a lot of reflection as another injury-filled season rapidly approaches. The Cincinnati Bengals and Burrow are far away from the contenders they thought they would be after their Super Bowl run in 2021 sparked a brief championship window. They haven’t been back to the AFC title game since 2023 because they haven’t had their franchise quarterback healthy enough.

Joe Burrow today on his new mindset following the third serious injury of his career. Prioritizing having fun, despite the challenges of 2025.

"If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing this. I have been through a lot. If it's not fun, then what am I doing it for?… pic.twitter.com/nc5mTxno7K

— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) December 10, 2025

“If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it,” Burrow said in a now viral clip that has the NFL speculating about his future. “I’ve been through a lot and if it’s not fun, then what am I doing it for? So that’s the mindset I’m trying to bring to the table.”

How did Cincinnati and Burrow get here? As Burrow talked about the reflection he’s done this season after a toe injury sidelined him for nearly three months, he didn’t sound like a player that was prepared for another tour to the postseason. He sounded like a player that is seriously contemplating calling it a career before he’s even 30 years old.

This is all speculation, but Burrow doesn’t always have to say what he’s thinking when he speaks, you can read between the lines and his latest subliminal message is making it clear that everything is on the table, including ending his career short of a Super Bowl.

The Cincinnati Bengals ruined yet another franchise player without even realizing it

We should have seen the trajectory of Burrow’s career the moment he tore his ACL in his rookie season. Maybe not a career that’s filled with injuries, but a career that was going to hinge on the organization taking care of him and that’s the last thing they’ve done. Burrow begged the front office to keep the core together and they did that. Then he begged them to improve the defense.

That failed.

They failed to improve the offensive line too, which has put Burrow in more harm than not. The worst thing about that Super Bowl run was that the organization saw more value in improving every other position group rather than improving the most important group. Burrow should have pleaded harder for offensive line reinforcements, more importantly though, the organization should have seen it themselves.

The Bengals navigated their most important offseason they’ve ever had to deal with this past year and it crumbled right in front of them. They were clueless in building a championship roster and it might just cost Burrow. He sees where things are headed and until the Bengals front office understands how to run a modern organization, Burrow will be the next one, not the last, to realize the mistake they made with the Bengals.

How the Bengals can keep Joe Burrow from same fate as Andrew Luck

This upcoming offseason might just be more important than the last one. This winter and spring could seriously determine if Burrow can find that love for the game he said is his main driver right now. That means the Bengals need to take the 35,000-foot view of this team and figure the direction it needs to take. Otherwise, they may find themselves in the same position the Colts tumbled into in 2019 whenAndrew Luck announced his retirement at the age of 29.

“I’ve been stuck in this process,” Luck said. “I haven’t been able to live the life I want to live. It’s taken the joy out of this game … the only way forward for me is to remove myself from football.”

Steering Burrow from making a similar decision starts with finding a new director of player personnel and from there addressing the teams’ weaknesses. The defense is horrendous and Burrow will never get the championship run he desperately wants again if the Bengals don’t find a way to improve that side of the ball. Trey Hendrickson probably won’t be back, Shemar Stewart has been disappointing as have the two rookie linebackers.

The secondary has been the bright spot on this defense, which is saying a lot as they’ve been miserable compared to the rest of the league.

The next most important thing is to improve this offensive line. Since Joe Burrow was drafted back in 2020, he’s been sacked an average of 34 times a year. In the three years he’s played the full season, he was sacked at least 40 times. No quarterback should take that type of beating, let alone your franchise player. It has consequences. Luck was sacked 170 times in 86 games with a career sack rate of 5.02 percent. Burrow has been sacked 203 times in 73 games with a career sack rate of 7.08 percent.

The Bengals were right to grant Burrow’s wishes in re-investing in the offensive skill players. But they should have equally invested in their offensive line too. If they don’t do that this offseason, they might not just lose Burrow for a few games, it could be his final season in the NFL.