Trey Hopkins impressed with Joe Burrow, doesn't believe communication will be an issue despite virtual offseason
CINCINNATI — The Bengals are hoping the virtual offseason doesn't hurt their chances to have a successful 2020 campaign.
Cincinnati's front office was busy this offseason. They added eight unrestricted free agents, to completely remaking their defense and drafted Joe Burrow with the No. 1 pick.
The 23-year-old quarterback hasn't set foot in Paul Brown Stadium since the draft due to COVID-19. Instead, all 83 players on the roster have had to communicate virtually.
That includes Bengals center Trey Hopkins, who obviously needs to build a relationship with Burrow before training camp starts.
The 28-year-old has liked what he's seen from his rookie quarterback.
"Very impressive. He has a great grasp of the offense in just a very, very short time," Hopkins said on the Bengals Booth Podcast. "There's a lot of excitement in the locker room... Just to see what he's got and see how it translates to the NFL. I'm encouraged by what I've seen thus far in the Zoom meetings."
Hopkins signed a three-year, $20.4 million extension in December after winning the starting center job in training camp last season. He thinks the communication between him and Burrow is up to speed, even though the two haven't met each other in person.
"When it comes between the communication between each other, I think we did have the opportunity in the Zoom meetings to kind of work through those things," Hopkins said. "I got to hear how he sees things and how he's going roll through his cadence, whether he's going to go to a full cadence before he makes a check, when he wants to make his check and how he's going to phrase those things. That part was good in already getting a jump on that."
Hopkins doesn't think it'll take long for him and Burrow to get on the same page physically.
That makes sense considering Hopkins has been a Swiss Army knife for the Bengals since they signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Texas in 2014. He's made 37 starts over the past three years and spent all 16 games at center last season.
Hopkins was waived or cut six times between September 5, 2015 and September 16, 2016. He's used to adjusting on the fly, which is exactly what he'll do in training camp if it's necessary.
"The physical part... It should not be too difficult," Hopkins said. "It shouldn't take long at all."
Listen to Dan Hoard's entire conversation with Hopkins on The Bengals Booth Podcast below.
