Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu is now a Super Bowl champion, so perhaps his word carries more weight nowadays. The “Honey Badger” is predicting the Cincinnati Bengals will join forces with LSU Tigers Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow in April.
“Me just knowing him for the last couple years,” the Mathieu told TMZ Sports, “He's super competitive … he knows he can be the guy.”
“I think he'll have a great opportunity to kind of help, hopefully, Cincinnati change things around as a franchise,” Mathieu says.
Burrow, 23, led Mathieu's alma mater Tigers to an FBS National Championship in January 2020, capping off an incredible, undefeated season. The Ohio native is the presumptive No. 1 overall pick—going to the Bengals—coming out of college at the 2020 NFL Draft in a couple of months. However, there have been a few rumors speaking disinterest on Burrow's part with Cincinnati into existence. Those rumors appear to be unfounded as some close ones of Burrow, like his father, have denied the report that he doesn't want to play for the Bengals.
Burrow has also trained with T. J. Houshmandzadeh, a retired Bengals wide receiver, in the time between the end of the college football season and the draft.
Mathieu attended LSU for two seasons in 2010-11 before being dismissed by the team. The two-time All-Pro defensive back later declared for the 2013 draft and was selected in the third round by the Arizona Cardinals. Mathieu then signed a one-year deal to play for the Houston Texans during the 2018 season before becoming a free agent again in 2019 and signing a three-year, $42 million contract with the eventual Super Bowl LIV champions Chiefs.