Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive coordinator Brian Callahan has revealed that Joe Burrow is already commanding the attention of his teammates.
Ever since the beginning of Joe Burrow’s senior season at LSU, he’s commanded the attention of the entire football world. Whether it be the battle with Alabama, the impeccable playoff performances that led to a national championship, or the Heisman Trophy ceremony, the 23-year-old phenom has captured the eyes of coaches, scouts, and opposing teams. Now, according to the Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, he’s doing the same with his new teammates.
While speaking with Bengals.com Senior Writer Geoff Hobson, Callahan expressed how impressed he is with the Bengals’ new man under center, a sentiment that has unsurprisingly been repeated by the coaching staff all offseason.
Burrow’s work ethic, preparation, and leadership were all things that fans heard experts loved about him so much leading up to the draft. So far, he’s living up to that reputation.
"“The guys see his preparation and work ethic. His knowledge of an offense that he’s new to, that always grabs people’s attention. When they come in and know what to say and how to do it and all the things that are required of a quarterback in an NFL offense, he’s exemplified all these things and that gets everyone’s attention first.”"
This echoes a similar statement Callahan made to The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. when he said the team has had to ask Burrow to slow down because he was days ahead of the scheduled pace.
That’s the best kind of news to hear about a rookie signal-caller. Often, early struggles are a result of lacking knowledge of the playbook and the overwhelming speed of the game, rather than physical limitations. It sounds like Burrow is on track to overcome the mental aspect, allowing his arm talent and athleticism to shine.
In a normal offseason, fans would have already been dissecting clips of the Bengals’ franchise quarterback slinging the ball to his new receiving cast. Unfortunately, the orange and black faithful haven’t gotten to do that just yet. Until in-person training camps are green-lit, reports like these will have to suffice.
The NFL has stated that training camps are still expected to open at the end of July, giving Bengals’ fans about a month-long wait to see Burrow in stripes for the first time.