LSU Football: Joe Burrow may have made a terrible career decision

Former LSU football quarterback Joe Burrow isn’t having much in the NFL so far.

Former LSU football quarterback Joe Burrow entered the 2020 season as the heavy favorite to be named the NFL offensive rookie of the year.

After the first five weeks of the season, however, that’s no longer the case.

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, now appears to be the favorite to win the NFL offensive rookie of the year award.

If you’ve watched much of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020, this probably isn’t a surprise. The Bengals have been unable to offer Burrow much protection, which has resulted in an anemic offense (Cincinnati managed just 3 points and 205 total yards last week against the Baltimore Ravens).

The Bengals were expected to struggle in 2020 (that’s why they had the No. 1 overall pick). That part isn’t surprising.

But is the team going to get better?

History, and comments from past players, suggest it won’t.

Joe Burrow should’ve listened to former Bengals players

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my 35 years on earth, it’s that listening to folks who have experience is always wise.

In my younger days, I would brush off advice that I didn’t want to hear. I’d do what I wanted to do. Sometimes it worked out okay. Most times, though, I probably should’ve listened to the folks with experience.

Burrow probably should’ve listened this past offseason when former Bengals players were telling him to stay away from Cincinnati.

Former Bengals defensive end Jason Buck said earlier this year that playing in Cincinnati was a “nightmare”.

“If he wants to have a hall of fame career, Cincinnati is not the place to go,” said Buck on the Rivals Podcast. 

“If I am Joe Burrow, I don’t go…I just say no I am not going to go to the Cincinnati Bengals,” added former Bengals quarterback Scott Mitchell.

Mitchell also noted that going to Cincinnati was the worst decision his agent ever made.

Burrow is getting destroyed in Cincinnati. There’s no way his body will be able to handle that kind of repeated abuse.

The Bengals have never done a good job of surrounding their quarterbacks with the necessary talent, so why should we expect that things will suddenly be different because Burrow is in town?

After all, this is a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since 1990. That’s a huge red flag.

It’s a shame. Because Burrow has the talent and confidence to be a Hall of Fame-caliber quarterback.

But I’m just not sure that will be possible in Cincinnati.

If Burrow sticks around in Cincy, he could end up like Andrew Luck — beat up and retired by age 30.

And no one wants to see that happen.