Joe Burrow to the Rams Feels Inevitable

Joe Burrow made some news this past week after speaking at a press conference that happened to fall on his 29th birthday. He was noticeably reflective, talking about his career, what he’s been through, and what the future might hold. The tone of it all was pretty cryptic.

Burrow essentially said that if he’s going to continue playing football, it needs to be fun for him going forward.

His body has been through a lot, as we all know, including this season, where a toe injury kept him out for a large portion of the year. When you combine that with the mental grind of losing, it paints a pretty clear picture of where his head might be at.

We’re now looking at a situation where the Bengals are most likely going to miss the playoffs for the third straight year, right in the prime of Joe Burrow’s career. That’s obviously frustrating for any quarterback, especially one of his caliber.

Because of that, it’s only natural that people have started thinking about what the future holds for Burrow in Cincinnati. Is he someone who could retire early, like Andrew Luck? Is he eventually going to request a trade? I don’t think anything happens this offseason, but if the Bengals continue down this path, the conversation isn’t going away.

What makes it even more annoying for Cincinnati is that they’re never going to be bad enough, unless Burrow misses a full season to land a truly high draft pick that dramatically improves the roster. And at the same time, they’re always going to be in the mix for a postseason spot simply because they have Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, who will keep that offense in every game.

Week to week, they’re a team you have to take seriously. But over the course of an entire season, you’re not really looking at them as a Super Bowl contender.

Because of all of this, I think in the next three to four years, Joe Burrow most likely won’t be in Cincinnati anymore. It’s either going to end with him retiring early, similar to Andrew Luck, because his body has just taken too much. Or, what I think is more likely, he eventually forces his way to another team.

I’ve kind of already prepped myself for this idea. I’ve tweeted about it before, and if you go through my Twitter, there’s probably something on there from months ago, or even further back. I’ve assumed for a while now that Joe Burrow is eventually going to be playing somewhere else.

More specifically, I think Joe Burrow is eventually going to be a Los Angeles Ram one day.

We know Matthew Stafford probably has two to three years left at most. If the Rams win this year, who knows, maybe Stafford calls it a career and goes out on top, playing at an MVP level. But assuming Stafford plays another couple of seasons, this feels like it’s lining up perfectly for Burrow to eventually take over.

Who wouldn’t want to play in Los Angeles? Who wouldn’t want to play for Sean McVay? The Rams are always aggressive when it comes to making big moves, and McVay is not the type of coach who’s going to want a bridge quarterback or to start over with a rookie. At that point, Burrow will most likely be a Super Bowl-caliber quarterback while the AFC continues to be stacked with guys like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and even Drake Maye who could get in Burrow's way.

The AFC is brutal, and Burrow may eventually look for a situation that gives him a clearer path to win a championship.

I’ve kind of just assumed for a long time that we’re probably going to see Joe Burrow in another uniform one day. And because I’m a Seahawks fan, stuff like this is just bound to happen to me.

I’m already prepared for it.