CINCINNATI – Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow has no qualms about accepting the expectations placed on his shoulders this offseason.
If the season begins, Cincinnati wants the first overall pick to come in the 2020 draft and be successful immediately. In his first press conference since the Bengals selected him, Burrow said he shares the same aspirations in his first season in the NFL.
“As I enter my rookie year, I hope to play well and hope to win many games,” Burrow said Friday when asked about reflecting on the recent success that includes a Heisman Trophy and a national title. “If I look back now, I’m hurting myself and the team hurting.”
Burrow’s comments came after the team announced that it had officially signed its $ 36.1 million four-year rookie contract after accepting the terms earlier this week, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Earlier in the week, Bengals coach Zac Taylor indicated where Burrow is on the depth chart on the way to camp, even if he did not explicitly state the recent Heisman Trophy winner as the team’s Week 1 starter.
“Obviously we have weeks to figure out who’s starting and all those good things, but Joe will come in and take the first pictures as a quarterback,” Taylor said Wednesday. “You are ready for that.”
The sophomore coach said the basic expectation for his new quarterback is to play well in Week 1 in the season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers. Burrow appreciated Taylor’s early hopes for him.
“It feels great to immediately have the confidence of the coaching staff,” Burrow said. “I have come a long way in the last three or four years in that regard. It feels great to come in and know that they support me and that if I make a mistake in practice they will not leave me on the bench.” “
To prepare for the upcoming task, Burrow spent most of the offseason living with his parents and training in southeast Ohio. Burrow said she moved to the Cincinnati area a couple of weeks ago and met with “many different guys” when asked if she had been able to pitch with any of her new teammates.
Burrow confirmed that he was able to pitch rookie wide receiver Tee Higgins, the Bengals’ second-round pick.
“I’m really excited about Tee,” said Burrow. “I was very impressed the two times I shot with him. I think he’s going to be a very, very good player for us.”
The 2020 draft class will be instrumental in helping the Bengals return to the postseason for the first time since 2015. In addition to the playoff drought, Cincinnati has not won a playoff game since January 1991, long before Burrow and many of his teammates were born.
Since it became clear last fall that the Bengals were going to have the No. 1 overall pick in the April draft and the opportunity to recruit one of the most momentous college quarterbacks of recent years, Burrow has been rated the uplift. to the dejected. franchise.
On Friday, he played down talk about long-term expectations for his time in Cincinnati.
“I try not to pay attention to all of those things,” Burrow said. “My job here is to be the best I can be today and get better every day. That’s all I’m focused on right now. I let everyone else do the talking.”
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