Bengals Hall Of Famer Anthony Munoz Believes Joe Burrow Can Be ‘The Guy’ In Cincinnati

For three brief months in 1993, Hall of Fame Bengals tackle Anthony Munoz left Cincinnati. 

Munoz had initially retired in 1992 after his 13th NFL season, all of which had come with the Bengals. He planned to become a broadcaster. 

Thanks in part to a one-year, $1.5 million contract, though, the Tampa Bay Buccaners convinced him to un-retire. Munoz, 34 at the time, moved his family to Tampa in July of ’93. 

The Munoz children — son Micheal and daughter Michelle — had lived in Cincinnati their whole lives. They did not take the move well.

“After a couple weeks,” Munoz said. “The kids had calendars in their rooms that were marking down the days before we came back to Cincinnati.”

Michael and Michelle didn’t have to wait long. Munoz retired in August after he tore his right rotator cuff while tackling the Buffalo Bills’ Jeff Wright, who had corralled a fumble during an exhibition. Munoz said the 16-hour car ride back to Cincinnati was the most fun he’s seen his kids have since the move. 

Nearly three decades later, Munoz is still a Cincinnati resident. He said his three-month stint with Tampa is the most time he’s spent away from the city since the Bengals drafted him third overall in 1980. 

On Thursday, the Bengals selected quarterback Joe Burrow with the first overall pick in the 2020 draft. And despite speculation to the contrary, Munoz believes Burrow will grow to love Cincinnati like he has. 

“You can pick any organization where you can pick and choose things that you can say don’t fit in with different guys,” Munoz said. “But I think this is a great fit for a guy like Joe Burrow.”

Speculation about Burrow’s willingness to play for the Bengals began at the Davey O’Brien Awards dinner in January. Burrow attended to collect the award for best quarterback, while former Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski, himself a former top overall pick in 1975, attended the ceremony to collect his Davey O’Brien Legends Award. 

When Bartkowski stepped to the podium to accept his award, he gave Burrow, then merely the presumptive top pick in the 2020 draft, some advice.

“If it’s the Bengals,” Bartkowski said, “I think I’d pull an Eli Manning on that one. I said, you’ve got a chance to do that. That’s happened. [John] Elway kind of set the tone, then the Mannings delved into it after Eli was picked by San Diego.”

The message: don’t risk playing for the Bengals, even if they draft you. They might ruin your career. 

Bartkowski’s comments sparked conversations across the internet. Would Joe Burrow play for the Bengals if the drafted him?

“Yes,” Burrow said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “Of course.”

But was that a good idea? Some pundits thought no. They shared Bartkowski’s concerns about Burrow’s talent being wasted by an incompetent organization. 

Munoz, who works as a color commentator during Bengals preseason games, is not ignorant of the reasons why this narrative exists. The Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since 1990. Before Marvin Lewis led Cincinnati to an 11-5 season in 2005, it had missed the playoffs in 14 consecutive seasons. 

It’s been long enough where, when Munoz works with local kids, they don’t remember his glory days. 

“When I talk about Bengals history, I talk about Super Bowls,” Munoz said. “And they look at me like, ‘Wait, the Bengals went to Super Bowls?”’

Munoz sees parallels between the Bengals he joined in the 80s and the Bengals Burrow joined Thursday. The 1980 Bengals were coming off back-to-back 4-12 seasons, but Cincinnati had hired a new coach in Forrest Gregg. The Bengals made the Super Bowl in 1981.

The Bengals went 1-15 in 2019, their first year under coach Zac Taylor, but that’s partially because star wide receiver A.J. Green and 2019 first-round pick Jonah Williams missed the entire season. 

Beyond that, the Bengals have changed the narrative surrounding their aggression in free agency. Typically known as cheap spenders, Cincinnati signed defensive tackle D.J. Reader (four years, $53 million), cornerback Trae Waynes (three years $42 million and safety Vonn Bell (three years, $18 million) to substantial contract.  

Now they have a quarterback, too. Munoz recently told USA Today that Burrow could “take over the city.” 

Munoz still remembers the last time the Bengals ran Cincinnati. The energy at Riverfront Stadium was inxtoicating. The fans painted their faces. Munoz called playing playoff games in Cincinnati the highlight of his career. 

“It was a jungle,” he said. “They were fanatics.”

To this day, Munoz said Cincinnatians still treat him with reverence when they see him in public. And Mun0z played tackle, one of the less heralded position.

So imagine what fanfare Burrow will receive if he can bring the Bengals back. Munoz believes the foundation is in place for a fruitful player-city relationship.

“I think (Burrow) is that right piece that can bring this city and this team together,” Munoz said. “Get that excitement going again. He can be the guy in this city.”