“That boy had blisters”: Fans roast Joe Burrow’s new greased up look as the quarterback sends message of “hope”

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is obsessed with his hair. There’s even a Pinterest page dedicated to ‘Joe Burrow haircut’ under the Explore, Beauty, Hair, Hairstyles section.

Around 3K have searched for it. Anyway, his obsession with his hair remains a mystery. No matter the length, he wouldn’t stop touching his hair during press meetings. Recently, at Michael Rubin’s 2026 Fanatics Super Bowl Party in San Francisco on Feb. 7, Burrow debuted his greased-up look. He told PEOPLE, “I’m trying something new today. I hope people like it.” Now, cybercitizens are trolling him, roasting him for the new sleek hairstyle.

One said, “That boy had blisters from rubbing his hair back [face with tears of joy emoji] if you drink everytime he does that youd be 6 feet under.”

Joe Burrow cares more about his hair than his career

“My man cares more about his hair then career at this point,” said one IG user. Another commented, “Joe Burrow becomes more and more unlikeable by the day.” A third user wondered, “Is Joey fighting some demons?” A fourth user chimed in, “It’s gone to his head - want to be traded to Lala land.”

A fifth user commented, “This hair…no.” A user wrote, “Joey need a haircut.” Another said, “This why bengals aint winning [----] ever.”

Hair change signals four possible emotional responses

A Sports Center reporter showed Burrow a picture of the NFL quarterback with blond hair and asked, “Joe, what do you think this guy would say to you right now?” The three-time Pro Bowler replied, “That was one of the saddest moments of my life.” In July 2024, he had bleached blond buzzed hair simply because he was “bored.”Anyway, a user commented on his greased-up new hairdo, saying, “Bengals should set Joey free.” Is it because he keeps experimenting with his hair? Hayley Peppin of Harper’s Bazaar reports that a hair change signals four possible emotional responses: a loss of control, an avoidance mechanism, a desire for reinvention, or a craving for confidence. Now, let’s connect these to our NFL quarterback.Loss of control? He missed nine games in the 2025 season because of a grade 3 turf toe injury.

He must have felt like he had no control over his NFL journey.

An avoidance mechanism? “Let’s talk about everything else, but current NFL journey?” He’s 29, struggling with slow starts, and he almost had huge starts in 2025, but his journey was clipped by a long absence, so probably don’t mention these things. Let’s talk about everything else under the sun, like an offseason hobby of piano playing, maybe? A desire for reinvention? This suits Burrow. This new, greased-up, sleek look is his nth experiment. A confidence boost craving? Again, it could fit because he was attending a party, and at his last press conference, he was struggling with his hair. It just wouldn’t go behind his ear! And when hair is on one’s face, tickling at best, it becomes hard to concentrate anywhere else!