Joe Burrow sends message ahead of Cincinnati Bengals 2024 season: ‘I’m really strong, bigger than I was’
The former Heisman Trophy has a new primary focus.
Back on the practice field for the first time following a season-ending wrist injury, former LSU standout and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is anxious to get going. He worked on his body throughout the offseason and is sending a message to the rest of the NFL in anticipation of a bigger, stronger version of himself.
“I’m eating more, I’m more dialed as far as nutrition and food schedule and eating when I need to so that’s been a big area of emphasis for me and I’ve seen the results,” Burrow said, via Bengals.com. “I’m bigger. Definitely bigger. … I’m really strong, bigger than I was. We’re going to continue to eat right, lift and go through my routine and see where I’m at.”
Burrow and the Bengals will try and win arguably the NFL’s toughest division, the AFC North, which saw all four teams end last season with winning records. That’s the first time that’s happened since 1935 and marked the end of Cincinnati’s two-year run at the top after Baltimore garnered the No. 1 overall seed in the conference.
Burrow, entering his fifth season and has five playoff wins and a Super Bowl appearance to his credit, is the third former LSU star to be selected No. 1 overall in the draft, joining Tigers standouts Billy Cannon (1960) and JaMarcus Russell (2007). Burrow, who grew up in Ohio, began his collegiate career at Ohio State, but announced a transfer after the 2017 season and ultimately decided to take his talents to LSU with two years of eligibility remaining.
While Burrow was solid in his first year as a starter after transferring in from Ohio State — 57.8 percent completion, 2,894 yards, 16 touchdowns, five interceptions and a strong display of toughness and leadership — what he accomplished in leading the Tigers to a Fiesta Bowl victory in 2018 was only a taste of what was to come the following season.
In his second and final season in Baton Rouge in 2019, Burrow put up arguably the best passing season college football has ever seen, all while leading LSU to a 15-0 record and the school’s first national championship since the 2007 season. Burrow connected on 402-of-527 passes (76.3 percent) for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns to six interceptions, setting both team and national records and winning the Heisman Trophy in the process. Burrow Cannon has just the second LSU player in history to take home college football’s most coveted player award when he took home the honor this past December.
In addition to the Heisman, Burrow also won the Maxwell Award, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, the Davey O’Brien Award and Walter Camp Award during the 2019 season, becoming one of the most decorated college quarterbacks over the past few decades.
