The Cincinnati Bengals continue to struggle building a defense to support their elite offensive duo of Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. Despite Burrow nearly reaching 5,000 passing yards last season, the team missed the playoffs.
This ongoing defensive weakness has fueled speculation that Burrow might eventually request a trade if Cincinnati fails to capitalize on his prime years. While the Bengals are working to address multiple needs this offseason, they may need to part with key defensive players like Trey Hendrickson.
Fox Sports analyst Colin Cowherd believes Burrow’s departure is inevitable.
“I absolutely think at some point, he’ll demand to be traded. I really believe that,” Cowherd said on his show. “It’s very hard to miss the playoffs when you have a great quarterback… So the Bengals had the quarterback who led the NFL in passing touchdowns and passing yards, and they missed the playoffs.”
Burrow led the NFL in both passing touchdowns and yards last season.
Off the field, Burrow is reportedly in a relationship with model Olivia Ponton, who has been legally listed as his employee for approximately a year.
“Bengals star QB Joe Burrow and model Olivia Ponton are reportedly officially dating. Ponton has been legally listed as an employee of Burrow for around a year,” Dov Kleiman wrote.
Fans first connected the two after Ponton called police when Burrow’s home was burglarized during the regular season.
“Someone broke into my house,” Ponton said. “It’s like completely messed up.”
The break-in occurred during a period when several professional athletes’ homes were targeted. Ponton was working at the residence that night but wasn’t injured.
The specific nature of Ponton’s professional role with Burrow remains unclear, though their relationship has evidently evolved beyond a professional connection.
