It was last week in the locker room after the Bengals practiced.

Joe Burrow, who suffers interlopers like interceptions (and that means with a no-nonsense simmering), showed a different side when he stopped during his stalking of the locker room to chastise a scribe as he conducted an interview. Later, he broke into a smile.

"Just messing with you," Burrow laughed.

If this sounds new, it is. But it's really old because, as usual, Burrow is doing whatever his team needs. And this year, with what he calls the best roster he's ever had in seven seasons as The Franchise, he's heightened the urgency by making his leadership more vocal and visible.

But not usually with a gag like that. As he broke it down Wednesday in what turned out to be the Bengals' last day of spring ball before summer vacation (complete with head coach Zac Taylor’s field day instead of practice), Burrow revealed he's become a bit meaner.

"If something isn't up to a standard, then calling it out right then and there," Burrow said. "Maybe a little louder than I have in the past. That's a growth as a leader that maybe I keep doing it, maybe I don't. I don't know, but certainly try it out and just try to bring a little intensity to the room."

That's because, also as usual, Burrow won't kid you. He believes after the bevy of offseason moves, the Paycor Stadium password for this season is Urgency26.

"This offseason I really focused on trying to bring urgency to the room and try to just get everybody to understand the level of urgency that we have this year," Burrow said. "The level of play that's going to be required from every individual who steps on that field. I've tried to communicate that. I've tried be a little more vocal in a mean way. I think that's a little out of my comfort zone, but that's somewhere that I'm improving. Maybe it's good and maybe it's bad, but we'll find out."

And, as usual, his teammates love him for it. But it's not always mean.

"He has a better understanding of what it takes to get better in this league. He's taken his overall self and game to the next level," says captain and left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. "He understands to win, we have to have a great culture, and that starts with continuity and loyalty among each other. He's been the main player in that this offseason making sure guys are spending time together off the field. That's been huge."

The offseason additions of seasoned pros like defensive tackles Dexter Lawrence II and Jonathan Allen and safety Bryan Cook have changed Burrow's focus. After all, if you can believe it, Burrow turns 30 three days before his rematch with Patrick Mahomes this December in Paycor Stadium.

"We had a really young team. A lot of us had come in together and been through it together. Now we have so many varying ages on the team from guys that we're counting on, and we've brought in some veterans too," Burrow said. "That certainly has made it easier.

"But building trust between a 21-year-old first-year player and a 31-, 32-year-old, nine,10-year vet, that's a difficult task and job as a quarterback to try to bridge those gaps where you can. That's something I've focused on. I think if you want to be a championship-caliber team, then you have to build those relationships and build that trust, so you know you can have hard conversations about things that are going on the field, as well as off."

He admitted on Wednesday that watching plenty of playoff NBA with Lawrence off site with somebody on the other side of the ball has been a tad out of his norm.

"Probably more so than I have in the past," Burrow said. "It's helped that we've brought some veteran guys in here that can help me do that. Dex has been amazing getting guys together, trying to build that off-the-field relationship that you need."

Burrow has always been close to his offensive line, and this spring Brown says he and Burrow have spent time at each other's homes "just chilling."

"Joey B is an interesting guy," Brown says. "He's super smart and knows about all kinds of subjects."

The topics of discussion?

"A lot of (bleep)," Brown says. "A lot of (bleep)."

Burrow isn't afraid of the expectations that have swelled with each of the $300 million in offseason moves against the backdrop of three straight years without a playoff berth.

"A lot of urgency this year. We have everything we need. We're deep at just about every position on the team," Burrow said.

And he continues to rave about the moves and the front office.

"We've got a great line of communication, and I think we are in a great spot," Burrow said. "We filled just about every hole that we have had. Operationally, we are improving. We are bringing in the right kind of people. I think for the most part, getting to know the rookies, they fit into our culture and what we are trying to do here. We had a great offseason."

Teammates say Burrow has spent his offseason being more vocal, particularly in the offensive meetings.

"I can see some of that," says edge rusher Myles Murphy. "The vibe as a whole, as a team, is different. More loose, excited, anxious for the season. Anxious in a good way. Yeah, he's pretty much the face of the vibe."

And Burrow appears as anxious as he's ever been to get a season started. He's comparing the feeling to LSU's dream 2019 season when he led the Bayou Bengals to an unbeaten season and national title. He's wishing training camp started on Monday.

"I certainly feel this way about this team. I think we have guys that have been there and done that and also guys who have had a lot of individual success and not necessarily the team success that we're looking for," Burrow said. "Guys like Dexter and guys like Jonathan, bringing guys like that in is so advantageous to a lot of different people. Players trying to improve make it easier on coaches. We have guys with so much talent, and I'm just excited to put it all together."

A day after he worked on the field for an extra 50 minutes and threw past his media time, Burrow worked a half-hour after the Wednesday workout, which was merely a fun nine-event contest consisting of several teams to celebrate the start of summer.

When Burrow popped out of his new conference, he still had more work to do and stalked to the weight room, where strength and conditioning head coach Joey Boese put him through the final paces as Paycor emptied into the summer.

"Just trying to get better," Burrow said.

His teammates think he has without throwing a ball.

I definitely see it," says right tackle Amarius Mims of Burrow's shift. "As a quarterback and leader of our team, he does a great job communication-wise. Being a little more vocal. When he talks, everybody listens. He's the heart and soul of our team.

"Things change whenever you get a couple of big guys in the locker room. He's the face of our team. Anything he says, it's coming from a good space."

More Burrow from Wednesday:

_He says it's the best roster he's had as a Bengal because it is so deep:

"We've talked a lot this year about (how) in years past, we wondered who was going to make the team. It was top-heavy. This year, it's guys that were once at the top level that were on the team for sure. Now there's a lot of competition for those spots at the end of that list. It's the first year that's really the case in my opinion. It's an exciting place to be where you have too many good players. It's our job to try to find ways to make this work, build that trust, and build those relationships."

_On restructuring his contract last week:

"It opened up some cap space, which is good for us. I have been open about how I am willing to do whatever they need me to do so they can operate freely and we'll continue doing that as needed.

_On how the Bengals offense can regain its playoff explosiveness:

"I think if you're going to be a (shot) gun team, you're going to get certain defenses and teams inherently are going to be more worried about the pass against us and try to take that away because that's what we're great, at and teams know what we like to do and that we're really good at it.

"Trying to find ways to be explosive in the run game and then try to find some things off of that can get us a couple of easy explosives. We're committed to that. Our coaching staff has done a great job this offseason of putting a plan together to try to execute that. So, I'm excited to see how it works out. But I'm always ready to drop back 65 times to make it work, too."

_On how the offense looked this spring:

"It was great. We have all the spots filled. We have all the starters back, so that's a great feeling. We don't have any young guys, any new guys coming in that you really need to count on. The guys that are young and come in and produce and perform is kind of like icing on the cake for us at this point. It'll certainly be hard for those guys to find a role this year considering how deep we are, but I'm excited to see who will and who will help us."

_On his post-practice work:

"Nobody's running routes after practice, mainly just spot catching. Guys will run a couple routes here and there that maybe the rep in practice wasn't exactly what we wanted against that look of the defense, and so we'll talk about it, and then run one or two. But for the most part, that's for me thinking about my motion, thinking about how I can improve throwing the football.

"I'm experimenting with a lot of different things that sometimes might not look pretty because I'm trying a lot of new things, and seeing how it works. Trial and error. That's the only way that you can get better, and so after practice, that's my time."