Burrow struggling in return from knee injury

“It’s frustrating right now, more so just not feeling like myself,” Burrow told reporters Saturday before practice. “I know I’ve put the work in to make my knee feel good, make my body ready for the season. It’s just now trusting my abilities, trusting my work, trusting everything.”

“I thought about that last night and I kinda have to temper my expectations of myself down a little bit so I don’t get too frustrated,” he added. “When we get closer to Game 1 (vs. Minnesota), if this is still happening then the panic button will start off. But, right now there’s no panic button going on. Just got to get the reps back.”

Burrow has been most impacted by the pass rush so far and admitted he still has “a ways to go there” while he tries to get back to where he is feeling comfortable in the pocket again.

The Bengals were going to address that Saturday by putting more bodies around him in seven-on-seven and individual drills to help Burrow get that feeling back. Burrow said that is the last step for him in his return from ACL and MCL surgery, to get his pocket presence back and an understanding of when the pressure is there.

“I would say right now it’s a mental thing,” Burrow said. “I’m getting back used to playing football again against top level competition. Hopefully a couple more days we’ll get it back to my old self.

“In the team drills it’s affected it for sure. I just need to get back to being able to feel the people around me as opposed to seeing the people around me. I’ve always had a great feel for the pocket and feel for where everybody is and it’s just gonna take some reps to get that back. I feel great in 7-on-7, I feel great routes on air, all that good stuff. It’s just the team part where I need to get that feeling back.”

Watching the film gives him more confidence because he’s throwing the ball in the right spot and getting the right checks. Now it’s just a matter of “putting the physical and mental side back together.”

A player who has always seemed so confident, Burrow is showing a different side of himself with his frustrations and need to develop trust in his knee again, but this wasn’t unexpected, offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said.

“He’s got some things he’s working through coming off the surgery,” Callahan said. “(A reporter) asked me what would be the biggest thing for him to overcome, and that’s confidence. That’s the ability to stand back there in the pocket against a live rush and feel like you don’t ever have to think about it, and we’re not there yet. That’s expected to be honest with you. I don’t know if Joe expected it, but I’ve seen enough guys with injuries coming back that it takes some time to get comfortable again and get confidence back without thinking about anything other than doing your job at an elite level. I’m sure that’s definitely a part of all of that, and the only way to get better and more confident is just to keep going out there and getting back behind the pocket and playing football. I’ve got no worries about that. I think Joe will be where he needs to be by the time he needs to be there, and that’s come the second weekend in September.”

Callahan said Burrow’s mechanics are fine, but sometimes when a defender is right in front of him, he doesn’t yet have the full confidence to step into the throw and really lean into it the way he used to. That will come with time.

Burrow believes it is just a matter of getting as many reps as he can get so he builds up that comfort level again. He didn’t ask for the extra day off Wednesday before the team’s built-in rest day Thursday and probably would have preferred practicing, but the break did help him come back feeling fresh Friday.

After an especially rough day Tuesday during the first padded practice of training camp, the timing of the day off probably worked out well to mentally recover as well. Even losing a practice is something Burrow has a hard time handling, and he’s anxious to get the offense clicking again.

“You want to go out and win every day,” Burrow said. “For me, it’s life or death every day going out there doing my job trying to be the best me possible. I’m really focused on getting better everyday continuing to put in extra work to make sure I get there.”