Burrow on Bengals future: 'Crazy things happen'

CINCINNATI -- Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow fielded a question Wednesday that seemed irrational to broach even a few weeks ago.

Burrow was asked if he ever envisioned playing for another franchise. The inquiry comes a week after Burrow said that he wanted to have fun if he was going to keep playing football, which created significant speculation about everything from retirement to seeking a new team. Technically, it is a possibility.

"A lot of crazy things happen every year," Burrow said Wednesday.

But for that to actually occur, several things have to take place in a specific order.

First, either the Bengals or Burrow would want to move on from each other. Cincinnati made its feelings about Burrow clear when it signed him to a $275 million contract extension in 2023 that made him one of the highest-paid players in league history. Even if the Bengals decided Burrow is no longer the franchise cornerstone, Burrow has a no-trade clause in his contract that currently runs through 2029, with options that could extend the deal all the way through 2032.

From his end, Burrow assuaged any fears by saying he "can't see" any world in which he's not with the Bengals in 2026, even though Cincinnati (4-10) will miss the playoffs for the third straight season. Burrow's universe seemingly became unmoored following his comments from his midweek news conference ahead of last week's loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Since then, he has spent much of the past week being asked about his thoughts and feelings, including by those close to him.

"That's how it goes," Burrow said. "Certainly, have some texts that didn't make a lot of sense to me after all that."

The sixth-year quarterback and two-time MVP finalist was a bit more jovial in his midweek news conference ahead of Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins (6-8), who are also eliminated from playoff contention.

He continued to reiterate his desire to keep playing this season, despite fans who want to either protect Burrow's health or have Cincinnati lose as many games as possible to improve its 2026 draft position.

"It feels like everybody's trying to do everything in their power to make me not play football and I feel like I'm fighting it," Burrow said. "I'm fighting everybody else. I just want to play ball. That's all I want to do."

That was before he was essentially issued a loyalty pledge to remain faithful to the team that drafted him No. 1 in 2020 after one of the best seasons in college football history.

Burrow acknowledged that loyalty can be fickle. He noted how the Dallas Cowboys dealt two-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers.

"That's something I hadn't seen in a long time in the NFL," Burrow said. "Crazy things can happen." And even though he missed nine games this season with a turf toe injury, the two-time Pro Bowler believes some of his best years are yet to come. He noted that Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and current teammate Joe Flacco were all successful at an advanced age for NFL players. "I want to be in the conversations with people like that and I do everything that I need to do for my body to prepare it for these games and for long-term success," Burrow said. "So I plan on doing it for a long time at a high level."

But all of those quarterbacks mentioned played for multiple teams in their career. Burrow was asked if he might want to play somewhere else one day.

"You think about a lot of things," Burrow said.

But until that crosses his mind, he and the team prepared for their final road game of the season against the Dolphins, in what he hopes will be the next of many.

"I expect to play for a long time, and I expect to play well and consistently great for a long time," Burrow said.