CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow didn't make it through 10 seconds of his 15-minute press conference Tuesday afternoon before being asked about his headband.
"When I'm working out, I definitely wear it," Burrow said with a smile. "Hair is getting a little too long to not."
Regardless of the headband and hairstyle, the fourth-year NFL star was at ease during 15 minutes of questions from the media.
"I had my best year last year," Burrow said. "I think I've improved every year and still a lot of room to grow. There is always room to improve every offseason."
Burrow and the Bengals participated in a second day of voluntary workouts as a full squad in the team's indoor practice facility.
Shortly after noon, Burrow addressed a variety of topics at Paycor Stadium. That included his offseason workout regimen, the status of a potential long-term contract extension and his thoughts on new teammates including eight signed rookie draft selections.
While there doesn't appear to be a timeline for his long-term contract extension, Burrow said he's involved in the negotiations with the team.
"I'm involved, that's in the works," Burrow said. "That's not really something I like to play out in the media."
Burrow said he's keeping his teammates in mind during the contract negotiations knowing some key players will soon be due for an extension.
"Whenever you have guys on the team that need to be paid that's always on your mind," he said. "You want that to be a focal point."
Burrow is healthy this offseason and said he hasn't changed anything with his workout routine. After an appendectomy last summer and recovering from a knee injury prior to the 2021 season, he said he's grateful for the opportunity to be healthy.
"Having a full offseason and a full training camp is so beneficial in so many ways," Burrow said. "It's just not really something that I've had yet. So I'm excited to hopefully have that this year and to be able to make those strides in camp. Whereas last year I was just trying to get back to where I was pre-camp. So I'm excited to find that improvement during those four to six weeks when I haven't really had that yet."
Burrow's leadership has been obvious. He's also made a point to get to know all the rookies in helping to build a strong foundation in the locker room. The Bengals signed all rookies from this past April's draft class.
"This is kind of the first year that I haven't really known anybody coming out in the draft so you're meeting a lot of new people and a lot of new faces on the first day that you weren't really sure of," Burrow said. "But, everyone has fit right in and they're going to continue to find their place on the team."
The Bengals' voluntary workouts continue through Thursday and resume again next week. Mandatory mini-camp starts June 13.
