Jordan Palmer expects Joe Burrow to succeed as a rookie, despite an unusual offseason
CINCINNATI — Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has plenty working against him as he prepares for his first year in the NFL.
He didn't get to throw to A.J. Green or Tyler Boyd before training camp began. He had to learn the playbook virtually. The preseason was canceled, which means his first NFL snap will be in Week 1 against the Chargers on Sept. 13.
Former Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton had to deal with a similar situation as a rookie in 2011. He was able to workout with his teammates, but he couldn't communicate with coaches during the lockout. Dalton went on to have a solid rookie year. The Bengals made a five-win improvement from the year prior and they made the postseason.
That is one of the many reasons why former Bengals signal-caller Jordan Palmer, who worked with Burrow this offseason, believes the rookie quarterback will have success this season.
"Andy Dalton led that team to the playoffs and went to a Pro Bowl," Palmer said on The Herd with Colin Cowherd. "And I don't think anybody would disagree when I say that Joe Burrow is a lot further along entering the league than Andy Dalton was. The difference is Andy got to work with his teammates. We held workouts as teammates, but he wasn't allowed to talk to his coaches. Joe Burrow was not really allowed to workout with his teammates because of COVID, but on Zoom, installations — he was allowed to work with and talk with his coaches and talk to his coaches. I think advantage goes to Joe Burrow. He's further along and I think he had a better offseason than Andy had nine years ago. So my expectations for Joe Burrow is that he has a really high completion percentage. I don't know how many games they're gonna win because I don't know how good this team is, but I see him finding completions, not turning it over a lot and actually despite no preseason, being as confident as you can imagine a rookie being starting Week 1."
The Bengals coaching staff has praised Burrow's intelligence and his ability to learn the offense. They will hold multiple scrimmages in hopes of getting the players ready for their Week 1 matchup against the Chargers, which is 28 days away.
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