Bengals' Joe Burrow 'a Little Iffy on His Knee' in Training Camp, Tyler Boyd Says

Amid some early struggles for the offense in training-camp practices, at least one member of the Cincinnati Bengals thinks Joe Burrow is still favoring his surgically repaired knee. 

Speaking to reporters after Wednesday's practice, Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd said he thinks Burrow is "kind of a little iffy on his knee" right now. 

Boyd did note that Burrow "looks good" in general, and his "pocket presence seems great."

Per Jay Morrison and Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic, the Bengals' practices on Monday and Tuesday were dominated by the defense. 

"The pass rush continued to break through the offensive line and put pressure on Joe Burrow and the other quarterbacks, and nearly every pass that wasn’t wildly off the mark was heavily contested, if not broken up or intercepted," the article said.

The offensive line struggling to protect the team's QBs is notable because that was one of the biggest problems for the Bengals in 2020. 

Burrow was sacked 32 times in 10 games last season before suffering a torn ACL and MCL in Week 11 against the Washington Football Team. He played well as a rookie before the injury, throwing for 2,688 yards with 13 touchdowns and a 65.3 completion percentage. 

"The No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft took 32 sacks (t-2nd most) and 42 quarterback hits (t-5th most) over the first 11 weeks of the season," wrote Ben Linsey of Pro Football Focus. "That falls back largely on the play of the offensive line." 

In addition to tearing Burrow tearing his ACL and MCL, ESPN's Adam Schefter and Ben Baby reported the 2019 Heisman Trophy winner "suffered other structural issues" in his knee. 

The Bengals announced on Dec. 2 that Burrow underwent successful surgery. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported (h/t NFL.com's Kevin Patra) that Cincinnati was anticipating the 24-year-old would "need 8-9 months of recovery and be ready around the beginning next season."

Despite having the ability to select an offensive lineman with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2021 draft, the Bengals opted to take wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, Burrow's former LSU teammate. 

It's still early in training camp, with Burrow only eight months removed from his surgery, so the Bengals don't need to been in a full-blown panic based on the offense's performance yet. 

But the results for Burrow and the offense do need to get better soon if the Bengals want to have any chance of improving on last year's 4-11-1 record.