First Things First - More Questions Than Answers: Joe Burrow's Interesting Press Conference | BONUS

Episode Date: December 15, 2025

Kevin Wildes discusses Joe Burrow's latest press conference following the Bengals loss to the Bills. Burrow discusses his lack of joy for the game which spurred a million more questions. Wildes doesn't have a take on the conference, but he did come out with six questions that he's wondering because of the conference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Kevin Wilde's podcast network. We're starting in with just sports. I canceled all the other podcasts. Sorry. Just Joe Burroughs podcast. A little bit of a life hack advice real quick. I one time was talking to a producer friend of mine about a story that was tough to have a take on. And he said, don't think you have to have a take on everything.

All you need to do is have interesting questions. Like when you're kind of stuck, you just need to have interesting questions, which leads us to this podcast called More Questions Than Answers. Subject, Joe Burroughs' interesting news conference. No, it certainly doesn't change my desire to win. You know, if I want to keep doing this,

I have to have fun doing it. You know, I've been through a lot, and if it's not fun, then what am I doing it for? So that's the mindset I'm trying to bring to the table. How much fun are you? A singular moment or time. It's just a reflection, reflection on a lot of things that I've done and been through in my career, I think. I've been through more than most, and certainly not easy on the brain or the body.

So it's trying to have fun doing it again. Number one. Is Joe Burrow just beating himself up from throwing back-to-back intercept? So he had four touchdowns that game. They were up 10 with eight in change. Playoffs were still not really a probability, but it was a possibility. And Joe Burrow single-handedly lost them the game. I think he wears that pretty hard.

And if you watch the full press conference, he sits down. He's a little bit bummed out already. And they start peppering him with, hey, what could you have done differently? And Joe Barrow said, I could have thrown it higher. Like, he just doesn't want to hear it. So that's the first question. Is he just beating himself up for back-to-back interceptions?

The caveat, it's no big deal. It's just a bad day at the office and you're just kind of talking. Question number two, a little bit more serious. Is he looking at his own football mortality? Now, famously in 2022, they asked how big his window was. was and he said, the window is my whole career. Things are going to change year to year, but our window is always open. And recently, he's realized it's not. He's had a litany of injuries, turf toe, calf, wrist, pinky. You know, Brew mentioned the appendectomy that I forgot about.

He tore his ACL and MCL. That was famously his rookie year. So he's had a few serious injuries, but little stuff, not really, you know, Andrew Luck style major injuries. You know, major injuries. when people start talking about, you know, being an old man in football and that type of stuff. I think his stuff is smaller, but it does mount. I was just telling Gianna, when I had a sneeze, I'm like, I don't want to go to work. So a little bit of a turf dough. I also don't want to be pushed down on a weekly basis. Burroughs career, games played 73, games missed, 23.

So I think maybe is having a little bit of a football midlife crisis. He mentioned it in his Netflix, quarterback documentary that he thought all of a sudden he looks up. He's like, oh, I've been around a while and I've only gone to one Super Bowl. I popped into LSU. Next thing you know, I was smoking a cigar, just winning championship.

Not plural, but championships is easier to say. So maybe he's looking at his football mortality. Question number three. Maybe on accident. Is that the big trade bat signal? I don't think he's doing it on purpose. But if you're a GM of a lot of teams, I think you have to put a call into Cincinnati now. They might not want to hear it.

But Joe Burrow is available. We talked about the Vikings on the show. We talked about the Rams on the show. The Jets have a bevy of first round picks. So what I, if I was Joe Burrow, the person who I would call is probably Matthew Stafford. Matthew Stafford never like lost the love of football. football, but I think Joe Burrow recognizes the value of an offensive-minded head coach like Stafford does and leaving an organization that was a little poorly run and going to one that is

well run. I would toss out organizations that haven't won. You've just done that. Question number four. Was everyone right all along? When Joe Burrow was coming out in the draft, there were some talks that he would pull in Eli Manning, John Elway. esk move. I don't want to go to Cincinnati.

We talked about it for a long time. And no, you can't do it. And for a while, once Joe Burrow went to the Super Bowl and the Bengals started to win, everybody was proven wrong. Everybody had egg on their faces. Look, look at what one superstar quarterback can do. Okay.

Now a dysfunctional organization can just creep up and all of a sudden, Joe Burrow might be on the move. Number five, and this is a little personal and a little bit of a leap perhaps, but maybe you're like this too. How much of Joe Burroughs reflection was because yesterday was his birthday? I didn't see anyone really talk about it. Like he did have this reflective moment on his birthday and he turned 29, which is a double, it's a double birthday. One, it's just your birthday, so you're always kind of reflective, whether you're 24, 44, or whatever.

But those nine birthdays always get you, always get you thinking. The nines and then when you turn like 29, 30, you turn 32. No, you don't even celebrate anymore. But 29 to 30, I think you're thinking about both of those 39 to 40. You're locked in. 1920, 21 is 9, 10, 11. Fetus born one. You're like, man, what a party.

I can't believe the world. 99. Just saying 29 is an interesting birthday. You're like, I'm not young, not old. I've got $100 million. I'm kind of banged up. I play video games on Mondays with my friends. I'm single, but I'm in this relationship. I think it's just a time for reflection.

And maybe if yesterday wasn't his birthday, maybe Joe Burrow would feel a little bit differently. Finally, no one's talking about his birthday. No one's talking about this either. Fossils. The other big thing that came out of quarterback, season two with Joe Burrow, was he took a trip to the American Natural History Museum or some museum, which had a lot of fossils in it.

And he loved it. And he didn't love it and, hey, that's cool. He kept on trying to talk to people about how interesting the fossils are and the fact that he got to go back and look at the fossils. And it was played off as this funny thing about fossils. But the larger point of it, and why I think the producers kept it in there, is that it's not all football with Joe Burrow.

He's into fossils as well. Also for his birthday, guess what he got? Did he hear? Pokemon box. A box of Pokemon. So I think there are guys where a guy's going to have a tough time after football. I'm not sure if Joe Burroughs one of those guys. Go be a paleontologist.

And he also loves fashion. A fashionable paleontologist, Ross from friends, but fashionable, hello. That's our latest episode of more questions than answers. Did you like it? That's another question.