Joe Burrow is treating Sunday morning in Madrid like the kind of stage he’s wanted for years.
The Bengals quarterback spoke with reporters on Friday and made it clear how much this trip means to him, both as a player and as someone who wants to help push the NFL beyond its usual borders. For Burrow, this isn’t just another game week. It’s the international opportunity he’s been waiting on since entering the league.
“It means a lot to me that we’re here. I think this is Year 7 for me, and I haven’t been overseas yet.
And we keep adding more and more games to try to build the NFL globally,” Burrow noted. “I think it’s worked over the last five years, and I’m hoping to add more and continue to build, and I love being part of that, and I want to help grow the game, and so I love being here.
“I love being the only game on TV on Sunday morning when people back home wake up, and I love showcasing our talents abroad and trying to bring attention to what we do, as far as what our offense brings. I think we’re explosive, we’re dynamic, we’re fun to watch, and I think we’re going to put on a show on Sunday.”
Burrow also said he was genuinely eager to visit Spain, calling the trip something he had wanted to do for a long time. He said he had not been to Madrid before and was happy to be able to make the visit while doing what he loves most.
“I was really excited about it. I hadn’t been here yet, so that was exciting for me,” burrow said about visiting Spain.
“This is somewhere that I’ve always wanted to go, and so to be able to do it while doing what I love, playing football, is really a dream come true for me. I talked about last week how one of my favorite times of my life is playing AAU basketball and traveling around with my friends and staying in the hotels, and that’s really what this is, just in the NFL, which makes it that much more special.
As far as my recognizability abroad, sometimes, sometimes not.
“I ran into some students studying abroad from the United States the other day when I was walking around, and that was certainly surprising. It’s often a little more than I expect when I’m in a different country; I usually expect to go pretty incognito and not have anybody recognize me. It’s a little more than that, but I love being out here because I can feel like a normal person for a little bit.”
Burrow said he has largely been able to keep a low profile in Spain, which is part of what he’s enjoyed about the experience. He also admitted the less glamorous part of the trip has been the packing, saying he does not like doing it and that his mom handled his clothes for this one.
Cincinnati still has a couple more days in the Spanish capital before Sunday’s game against the Falcons, and Burrow is clearly embracing the chance to play on a standalone stage in front of a global audience.
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Shemar Stewart Suddenly Has A Bigger Bengals Opportunity In Madrid
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Zac Taylor pointed to the absences around Stewart as a reason his workload should grow, and the timing matters for a player who missed much of training camp before settling into the season. Even with that slow start, Stewart has kept a positive approach, and the Bengals now need him to turn that into production when the opportunities start coming more regularly. [Read more 🡒]
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The wrinkle is that Caddix is not an NFL-approved brand, which is where the conversation gets interesting for a player with Burrows visibility. Other players have already run into trouble for wearing the same cleats, and with Joe Flacco also connected to the brand, Burrows choice could easily spark a fresh Bengals-side debate about where fashion ends and league rules begin. [Read more 🡒]
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For Cincinnati, the timing only raises the stakes for what comes next. The Bengals will get the division leader in prime time at Paycor Stadium on Nov. 15, with NBC carrying the matchup and streaming available on Fubo, and it arrives as one of the clearest measuring-stick games left on the schedule. If the Bengals want to make up ground in the AFC North, this is the kind of test that can shape the rest of the race. [Read more 🡒]