CINCINNATI (AP) — Joe Burrow’s desire for privacy might be on the same level as his drive to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
That is why it was a surprise when Netflix announced in late March that the Cincinnati Bengals’ star was going to be featured on the second season of the hit “Quarterback” series.
After joking that they “caught me on the right day I guess,” Burrow pointed out that Peyton Manning’s involvement in the series made the opportunity too good to pass up.
“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 lamented the loss of privacy after his home was broken into last December, he did make a high-profile appearance at The Met Gala in New York two weeks ago. That came on the heels of last year’s appearance for Vogue at Paris Fashion Week with 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 league with 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns, but had his house broken into in December while the Bengals were in Dallas facing the Cowboys in a Monday night game.
“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 about the break-in and how that was handled on both series.
The Netflix series is a joint production between NFL Films, Manning’s Omaha Productions and Patrick Mahomes’ 2PM Productions. Burrow and the Bengals were also part of last year’s “Hard Knocks” in-season series that focused on the AFC North.
Burrow added he has screened a couple of episodes of the upcoming season of “Quarterback” to provide input to Manning and producers, but likely would not watch the entire series when it is released in July.
Coach Zac Taylor said that despite having two series following the team and his star quarterback around late last season, the film crews did a good job blending in. Atlanta’s Kirk Cousins and Detroit’s Jared Goff will also be featured on the series.
“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,” he 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.”
It has been a good offseason so far for Burrow. Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase — his two main playmakers — signed extensions. Burrow said he found out about it via text while attending the bachelor party of former Cincinnati defensive lineman Sam Hubbard, who recently retired.
Burrow, who will be going into his sixth season, also noted this is the healthiest he has felt during an offseason program.
“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 and the Bengals biggest focus will be getting off to a better start to the season. Cincinnati ended the season on a five-game winning streak, and just missed the playoffs with a 9-8 record after dropping its first three games and being 4-7 at its bye week.
The Bengals open at Cleveland on Sept. 7 and host Jacksonville in Week 2 before a stretch of five straight games against playoff teams from last season, 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.”
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