Joe Burrow‘s new look has people wondering if they are stans—in the less stalkery way, of course—or not.
The 27-year-old quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals arrived for training camp on Tuesday sporting a new look: a bleached fade. After a video surfaced last week of Burrow with a buzz cut, he gave everyone an extra surprise by showing up with a bleach-blond mane, reminiscent of rapper Eminem‘s signature look.
Guess who’s back 🎶 pic.twitter.com/dwHy2zymH2
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) July 23, 2024
The Bengals posted a photo to social media on Tuesday with the caption “Guess who’s back 🎶,” playing off Slim Shady’s 2002 hit track ‘Without Me.’
This wasn’t the first time Burrow sported a platinum look; he rocked a similar style when he was a star at Athens High School in Ohio a decade ago.
Burrow did a similar thing last year in September, minus the dye, after the team’s slow start. But this is a further escalation, as the long locks fans saw during Burrow’s overseas trips this offseason are now nonexistent.
When reports first came in about the coiffure, fans took it as a sign that Burrow meant business, trying to start fresh without the longer locks weighing him down. But the football player seemingly aims for another kind of fresh—a means to stay fly as he stunts, nay slays, on his opponents this year.
Joe Burrow last month in Paris vs today in Cincinnati pic.twitter.com/u3BPqzDhju
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 23, 2024
Burrow was sidelined last season when he suffered a torn ligament in his right wrist during the 10th game, a loss to Baltimore on Nov. 16. He had surgery on Nov. 27.
“We just need Joe to be out there,” new offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said. “He’s going to be out there. He’s worked himself into a really good place physically and mentally.”
Coach Zac Taylor doesn’t yet know if any accommodations will be made for Burrow in training camp or if the quarterback will play in the preseason games. But Taylor said he is feeling optimistic about Burrow.
“My impression of him, just seeing him over the last several months, has been very positive, and he’s ready to go,” Taylor said.
Pitcher, the former quarterbacks coach, said having Burrow at 100% or close to it for training camp is critical to the ramping up of the Bengals’ offense.
“So just having him and, you know, the effect that he has on everyone around him. I think we feel it because we’re out there. We’re standing there. We know what it does, you know? But that’ll be a nice part of having him out there for all of camp.”
