One of the biggest goals the Cincinnati Bengals have is protecting quarterback Joe Burrow.
That's an annual concern, also, as the Bengals have done a terrible job of doing so since Burrow entered the league. The superstar quarterback has routinely gotten dropped by opposing defenses over the last five years.
Burrow led the NFL in sacks taken in 2021 with 51, and he's been sacked over 40 times in two of the past three seasons. Since 2020, Burrow has been sacked 196 times, with only Russell Wilson (213) having been sacked more in that span.
Of course, the concern is that Burrow's career may not last as long as we'd like if he continues to take that kind of abuse.
One Bengals X account, Bengalscentre, compared the numbers of Burrow and Andrew Luck over their first five years in the NFL and they are troubling.
Joe Burrow
- Games: 69
- Yards: 19,001
- TDs: 140
- Sacks: 196
Andrew Luck
- Games: 70
- Yards: 19,078
- TD: 132
- Sacks: 156
On top of being sacked 40 more times than Luck, Burrow has also missed 13 games due to injury at this point in his career, while Luck had missed 10 over his first five seasons.
Luck was on a Hall of Fame trajectory before he retired at the age of 29 after years of abuse, which took a toll on him both mentally and physically.
Burrow is currently on that same trajectory in terms of a Hall of Fame career, and like Luck the only thing that could stop him is early retirement.
Burrow has also admitted that injuries have taken a toll on him mentally and have even left him questioning his "football mortality" at times.
"Whenever the injuries start to stack up, your football mortality kind of comes into the back of your mind," Burrow said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. "So, that's definitely something I've thought about and something I have had to fight through."
Do we believe that Burrow would retire early if the abuse doesn't stop?
There's always a chance, but it's more likely the Bengals superstar would opt to force his way out of Cincinnati before that happens.