CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow looks a little different these days.
The Cincinnati Bengals posted a photo of the quarterback on social media Tuesday with the caption "Guess who's back."
Guess who’s back 🎶 pic.twitter.com/dwHy2zymH2
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) July 23, 2024
Burrow's hair has made waves in the past, with Bengals fans taking to social media to discuss his different hairstyles over the past few years, though this is the starkest change we've seen yet.
The quarterback was recently cleared for contact just days before the opening of training camp on Wednesday — though fans may not have realized he'd already been in contact with a bottle of bleach and some hair clippers.
Things feel right. Things feel normal. pic.twitter.com/2MVxaQ6SnJ
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) July 23, 2024
Fans responded to the newly dropped photo of Burrow, piggybacking on the team's reference to well-known bleach-blond rapper Eminem.
"SLIM SHIESTY," replied the popular CincyProblems account.
Others pointed out his resemblance to WWE wrestler Cody Rhodes, who also sports recognizable, bleached locks.
Fans reacted strongly — and we mean strongly — when Burrow changed his hair slightly during the 2023 season; he debuted the look during the Bengals' first week of the season.
"I needed something new, I've had the same haircut for a while. I decided to change it up, we will see how it goes," Burrow said.
Burrow's barber, Darnell Bonner, said that cut was the quarterback's idea but Bonner's execution; it's not clear whether Bonner was involved in Burrow's new Slim Shady-esque style.
After Burrow's hair change in 2023, though, Bonner's business saw a significant boost as Bengals fans throughout the region wanted to be more like Burrow.
"We had every little kid, a couple adults, too, but every little kid asking for the Joe Burrow fade,” Bonner said.
Only time will tell if, this time, Cincinnati's football fans will reach for the peroxide in support of their favorite player.
