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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow went from being one of the NFL’s most promising young quarterbacks to now being talked about as one of the best quarterbacks in the league, period. From interesting pregame outfits to top-tier Instagram captions, Burrow has made himself one of the most popular players in the game.
As they say, with great power comes great responsibility. Players as popular as Burrow are looked up to by many, including young football fans across the world. Burrow has been as clean as a whistle off the field, a story of perseverance and just about anything else you’d want to see from a franchise quarterback. The spotlight has been kind to him thus far and has landed him on NFL.com’s list of 22 People who will shape the 2022 NFL season.
Joe Burrow’s appendectomy kept him off the field for much of training camp. He didn’t take a single preseason snap. No matter. Burrow is arguably already a top-five quarterback, someone who has transformed the Bengals into a true title contender, someone whose play will shape the AFC playoff field for years to come.
Burrow’s impact goes beyond that, though. He is willing, as few other superstar quarterbacks are, to use his platform to seriously address difficult and controversial topics: hunger in America during his Heisman Trophy acceptance speech and, this offseason, gun violence and the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. In a mostly cautious league, Burrow’s outspokenness and big personality have positioned him to be the NFL’s next big off-the-field star.
Every Bengals fan, NFL fan or other person won’t agree with everything. To some, the outfits are too loud. Some think the stances he takes on social issues are wrong. People may think he crosses the line from confidence to cockiness. This is the same for any successful athlete who gets a large platform. You can’t please everyone, but it certainly seems like Burrow comes pretty close.
You can love him or hate him, but “Joe Shiesty” isn’t going anywhere.
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