Diana Russini doesn’t think Joe Burrow is headed down the Andrew Luck path.
The Athletic’s NFL insider appeared on the Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz on Tuesday and said Burrow’s recent comments about not having fun shouldn’t trigger alarm bells about him walking away from football, as people close to Burrow told her he’s just frustrated with losing, not contemplating retirement.
“I think everyone freaked out a little bit last week, and rightfully so, because Joe just was very open,” Russini said. “I thought that was a very vulnerable moment for him before this last weekend’s game, where he was essentially just talking about how he’s not having any fun. And I think we freak out because we hear that, and you go, ‘Oh my god, is this going to be Andrew Luck?’ What is happening? Is he dealing with something serious? We obviously don’t want to ever make light of it. And so, I did a little digging on it.”
Burrow said last Tuesday, on his 29th birthday, that he needs to enjoy playing football or there’s no reason to keep doing it. When asked if he’s having fun right now, he admitted he’s not.
It brought back memories of Andrew Luck, who stunned the NFL world by retiring at 29 in August 2019, just weeks before the season started. Luck said during his retirement announcement that injuries had taken the joy out of football, and he couldn’t keep living through the cycle of injury and rehab.
So when Burrow started talking about not having fun, people immediately went there.
Russini’s reporting suggests that’s not what’s happening. People close to Burrow told her he’s frustrated with losing. Burrow doesn’t respond to calls or texts much. He’s notoriously private. But those close to him told Russini he’s actually been communicating more since returning from turf toe surgery. During his recovery, he shut everyone out to focus on getting back.
Russini pointed to Burrow’s recovery as evidence he’s not going anywhere. Doctors estimated four months after his September turf toe surgery. Burrow cut the cast off himself instead of waiting for doctors to remove it. He rehabbed aggressively to get back for Thanksgiving. He made it in two months. That doesn’t sound like someone thinking about retirement.
Still wondering whether he loves football?
If you read Burrow’s recent comments, delivered on his 29th birthday, and thought maybe he was about to pull an Andrew Luck … think again. A person close to him laughed when I suggested he sounded down in the dumps. “He’s a serial killer,” that person said. “Nothing matters to him but playing this game and winning a Super Bowl.”
The Luck comparison has followed Burrow his entire career. Both played behind bad offensive lines. Both dealt with recurring injuries that raised questions about their long-term health. Both were generational talents stuck in situations that might waste their primes.
Russini doesn’t think that’s where this is headed. Her reporting suggests Burrow is frustrated with losing, not contemplating retirement or forcing his way out of Cincinnati. But the fact that people are discussing those possibilities shows how much Burrow’s comments resonated. When a 29-year-old franchise quarterback says he’s not having fun, people remember what happened the last time an elite quarterback in his prime said something similar.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.