Joe Burrow Is Completely In Favor Of Taunting In The NFL

Joe Burrow said what all NFL fans are thinking: The taunting penalty is trash.

During a live recording of the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce on Thursday, the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback said he's just fine with smack talk on the field. In fact, he pretty much encouraged it.

"Yeah, I'm pro taunting," Burrow said, according to WLWT's Olivia Ray. "We're all grown adults that work really hard at what we do. And sometimes we'd like to show it. I'm not gonna get my feelings hurt if somebody sacks me and taunts me like you made a play. I get it. Like good for you."

He's right. If a little trash talk hurts your feelings, you probably shouldn't be making millions to play in the NFL.

It's currently a 15-yard penalty for "using baiting or taunting acts or words that may engender ill will between teams." But Burrow doesn't think it should be penalized at all. And this isn't the first time the 27-year-old has expressed this opinion.

During the AFC Championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens in January, Ravens receiver Zay Flowers was flagged for taunting.

Burrow immediately posted on X: "Let the guys taunt."

The conversation led Travis Kelce to tell the story of his "favorite" taunting penalty that he ever received: one for chirping at Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham on the Philadelphia sideline.

The NFL started cracking down on taunting penalties in 2021, which led to 43 flags being thrown that season. Since then, though, the number has gone down dramatically. There were only 19 taunting penalties called in 2022, and the number went even lower last season with just 15 flags thrown. 

Almost as if we can just eliminate this super-soft penalty altogether.

In the wise words of Joe Burrow: Let the guys taunt.