Joe Burrow values his privacy as much as he does being one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.
That’s why many were surprised when Netflix announced in March that the Cincinnati Bengals star would be part of Season 2 of the “Quarterback” series.
Burrow joked that they “caught me on the right day I guess,” but said Peyton Manning’s involvement was the deciding factor.
“I have a lot of respect for him. When that guy reaches out to you and asks you to do something, then most of the time I’m going to say yeah,” Burrow said of Manning. “I probably wouldn’t have done it if he wasn’t involved, but I have a lot of trust and faith in him to not do anything that would hurt me or the team.”
Even though Burrow was upset about losing his privacy after someone broke into his house last December, he made a public appearance at The Met Gala in New York two weeks ago. That followed his trip to Paris Fashion Week last year with his friend and former LSU teammate Justin Jefferson.
“It’s a new experience. It was fun,” Burrow said about The Met Gala. “It’s about five minutes of taking pictures, and then it’s just a little dinner party. So it was good people, good vibes. I was happy that I was able to go. Maybe we’ll go again. I don’t know. We’ll see how we play it by ear.”
Burrow led the NFL with 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns last season, but during the team’s Monday night game in Dallas, his home was broken into.
“That was definitely a curveball I didn’t quite expect throughout the whole process, but the people involved in it, working on it day to day, were great and weren’t too intrusive,” Burrow said, referring to the production team.
The Netflix series is a collaboration between NFL Films, Manning’s Omaha Productions, and Patrick Mahomes’ 2PM Productions. Burrow and the Bengals were also featured on last year’s in-season edition of “Hard Knocks,” which focused on the AFC North.
Burrow said he watched a few episodes of the upcoming “Quarterback” season to give feedback to Manning and the producers but probably won’t watch the whole series when it releases in July.
Coach Zac Taylor said that having the camera crews around didn’t interfere with the team, even with two different shows filming. This season, Kirk Cousins from Atlanta and Jared Goff from Detroit will also be featured.
Joe Burrow (NFL)“Part of the quarterback show is just behind the scenes playing quarterback. It’s not necessarily the home life and the off field. I’m sure there’s a little bit of that, but for the most part, it’s just a respect for the game,” Taylor said. “I hope people get an appreciation of what they go through every single day of game week and over the course of the season, and how their role can evolve.”
This offseason has been a good one for Burrow. His main receivers, Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, both signed contract extensions. Burrow said he heard the news through a text while he was at the bachelor party of former Bengals defensive lineman Sam Hubbard, who recently retired.
Now entering his sixth season, Burrow said this is the healthiest he’s felt during the offseason.
“I’m not sure I’m changing too much. Just like every year you want to get bigger, stronger, faster. Refine things you can refine. That’s kind of the process every year,” he said. “I’ve had injuries that kind of change the offseason mindset a little bit. This year I don’t have any of those, and that’s great, because I can focus on getting better all around and become a more well-rounded player.”
Burrow said the Bengals need to improve their start to the season. They missed the playoffs with a 9-8 record, despite ending the season with five straight wins. Earlier in the year, they lost their first three games and were 4-7 at the bye week.
Cincinnati starts its season at Cleveland on Sept. 7 and plays Jacksonville at home in Week 2. That is followed by five games against last year’s playoff teams, with three on the road.
“This time of year is about the same. I would say we’re working a little harder in the weight room and running. But at the end of the day, we just have to go out and play better early in the year,” Burrow said.
“You can come up with all these different things to try to make that happen. I think playing in preseason games will help. We haven’t had those discussions yet, but based on the little that we have, I imagine we’ll be playing more, and I think that’ll help.
“But we’ll see. I think at the end of the day, we just have to take some ownership and come out of the gates and execute and play better.”
