Burrow not rushing own deal in wake of Herbert’s

Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterJul 26, 2023, 07:43 PM ET
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CINCINNATI — A day after fellow quarterback Justin Herbert agreed to terms on a record-breaking contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, Joe Burrow said the development won’t influence his own negotiations with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Every quarterback who was in major contract discussions with their respective teams have agreed to terms on a new deal, leaving Burrow as the last one looking for a long-term extension.

“I’m focused on getting a deal done that’s good for us, good for me, good for the team and good for everybody,” Burrow said Wednesday after the Bengals’ first training camp practice.

He was even more succinct when asked if Herbert’s deal will speed up his process.

“It gets done when it gets done,” Burrow said.

At the team’s annual media luncheon earlier in the week, Bengals executives remained tight-lipped about the talks with Burrow and his agent, Brian Ayrault. Team president Mike Brown said he was “bound” not to discuss the contract in Brown’s only media availability of the calendar year.

Burrow echoed that sentiment on Wednesday, saying that committing to silence was the “best way to do business.”

There also hasn’t been any chatter with Herbert throughout the process. Burrow said the two spoke at the 2020 scouting combine and briefly following their matchup against each other in 2021. Otherwise, Burrow said the two don’t really talk too much.

However, the Bengals’ fourth-year quarterback didn’t rule out any discussions with wide receivers Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase who will be looking for lucrative extensions on their respective rookie deals. Higgins is currently eligible for a new deal, while Chase can’t enter talks until his third season is over.

Burrow said keeping Higgins and Chase as part of the team’s long-term core is the ideal situation.

“You want to keep guys together for a long time and build chemistry and that translates onto the field,” Burrow said.

Any thoughts about the contract process didn’t hinder Burrow’s performance at Wednesday’s practice.

He said the day went “pretty damn good” as he made good pre-snap adjustments at the line of scrimmage, made good decisions and threw the ball well. After practice, Burrow said he’s able to focus on multiple things simultaneously, and when it’s time to play football, he can concentrate on that.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor said he hasn’t seen any change from Burrow since he reported with the rookies on July 22.

“I really like the approach I’ve seen,” Taylor said. “And that’s not shocking to me.”

As the Bengals chase a third straight AFC North title and another deep playoff run, Burrow said he’s already felt that he’s around a special group, much like the last two versions of the Bengals that reached the AFC Championship Game.

And when it came to the idea of potentially skipping workouts until there’s resolution on his contract, Burrow said he wants to make the most of his preparation for the upcoming year.

“I’ve wasted enough days over the last two years with injuries, appendicitis, COVID year before that,” Burrow said. “I don’t want to get out of camp wishing I had seven more days that I could have got better. So that’s the reason I’m here.”

As for other developments out of the Bengals’ first practice, new offensive tackle Orlando Brown and defensive end Trey Hendrickson were involved in a scuffle in one of the first team reps of training camp.

Also, punter Drue Chrisman, who is competing for his roster spot, is hospitalized with an undisclosed medical condition and missed Wednesday’s practice, Taylor told reporters.