Joe Burrow: “I’ll Play For Whoever Drafts Me”

The Joe Burrow/Bengals controversy, it seems, has been put to rest. At the combine on Tuesday, the LSU quarterback told reporters that he’ll play for “whoever drafts” him.

Yeah. I’m not going to not play. I’m a ball player,” Burrow said (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Field Yates). “Whoever picks me, I’m going to show up.”

Burrow has been the apple of the Bengals’ eye from the get-go. Still, questions have lingered about his desire to play for the Bengals, who have long been mired in a slump and held back by internal discord. Under new head coach Zac Taylor, the Bengals completely flopped – they went 0-11 to start the year and finished out with 2-14. Of course, that’ll often be the case for any team with the top pick, but the Bengals didn’t have many bright spots and haven’t looked the part of a contender in a long time.

This offseason, Burrow has been working out with former Bengal Jordan Palmer, the younger brother of longtime franchise face Carson Palmer. The elder Palmer has been critical of the organization in the past and occasional quotes from Burrow led many to believe that he had been warded off of the Bengals.

“You want to go No. 1. But you also want to go to a great organization that is committed to winning. Committed to winning Super Bowls,” Burrow said earlier this winter.

Burrow may still have concerns about the direction of the franchise, but he doesn’t sound inclined to pull an Eli Manning, even though he has the same agent.

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