Bengals: Joe Burrow praises key free agent addition
CINCINNATI – Barring a free agent pickup or any other kind of addition, the Bengals have the players they need to play along the offensive line in 2022. The main beneficiary is obviously Joe Burrow. And he's taken notice of the guys that will be competing to protect him in what is hopefully another Super […]
CINCINNATI – Barring a free agent pickup or any other kind of addition, the Bengals have the players they need to play along the offensive line in 2022.
The main beneficiary is obviously Joe Burrow. And he's taken notice of the guys that will be competing to protect him in what is hopefully another Super Bowl-infused season.
"We have a lot of pride in those guys and it seems like they've had a great offseason," Burrow told reporters Tuesday. "They worked really hard, came in in shape and ready to go…. I have the utmost confidence in all those guys to be able to do their job to the best of their abilities.
"We'll see what happens in camp, but I know they're ready for it."
Many are newcomers. One of them, center Ted Karras, will be a key part of improving one of the NFL's worst -if not the worst- pass protection units from last year.
Karras hails from the Patriots organization, mostly, and has played both center and guard throughout his time in the league. He's expected to start at center when the Bengals begin training camp in late July.
The quarterback-center relationship is one of the most important and ironically, most underrated relationships in the NFL. Those two have to not only be in-synch when it comes to executing a successful snap, but the verbal communication required for protection shifts, identifying certain defenders and their respective roles, etc. is a big part of it, as well.
Fortunately for the Bengals, Joe Burrow and Karras are hitting it off. Even to the point where Burrow threw some high praise in Karras' direction.
"Ted's awesome. [He's a] loud leader up front that you want out of your center," Burrow told reporters Tuesday. "He's exactly what we could've hoped for. He's been above and beyond what you could ask for."
The Bengals need the moves they made in regard to the offensive line to work in the worst of ways this year. This time of year is all about developing chemistry, timing, rhythm, and honestly, making friends, to an extent.
So far, it sounds like everything is going according to plan in regard to Burrow and Karras.
You can watch Burrow's full presser, below:
Featured image via Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
