New Cincinnati Bengals safety Geno Stone was on the opposing side last year when Joe Burrow suffered his season-ending injury.
Naturally, that topic of conversation has come up with Stone this offseason as he works with Vonn Bell to learn the Bengals defense.
Speaking with Laurel Pfahler of the Dayton Daily News, Stone revealed that he didn’t even realize at first that Burrow was out of the game.
“For me, I just go out there and play my game, but we were on the sideline after that, and they were like, you know, Burrow’s done,” Stone said. “I felt bad for him. I saw him on the field after the game and you know, it sucks. Injuries suck in this league. So I felt bad for him. I went through that my first few years with Lamar (Jackson), where he was out, and it’s never good to lose your key quarterback.”
Now Stone is on the same sideline as Burrow and tasked with stepping into a Jessie Bates-styled role now that Dax Hill has switched positions to cornerback.
Considering the trouble he’s given Burrow (he picked off the Bengals passer last year, even) and the AFC North, it’s not hard to see why the front office prioritized him in free agency.