Joe Burrow battling ‘mental thing’ as he ups ante at Bengals training camp

Joe Burrow has decided to esclate things at Cincinnati Bengals training camp this weekend.

During a candid interview with the media, Burrow admitted he’s frustrated and looking for ways to get past the mental blocks at this stage of both his rehab and training camp itself.

“I would say right now it’s a mental thing, getting back to playing football against top level competition,” Burrow said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “Getting back to being able to feel the people around me as opposed to seeing people around me. I’ve always had a great feel for the pocket. It’s just going to some more reps to get that back.”

Burrow has requested coaches put people and bags back in the pocket with him during practices moving forward so that he gets a better feel for navigating a messy pocket on his surgically repaired knee.

And for those wondering if it’s time to worry, Burrow says that’s far off, per The Athletic’s Jay Morrison:

Burrow: I can guarantee my expectations of myself are higher than everyone elses. If we get close to Game 1 and this is still going on, maybe that’s time to hit the panic button.

— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonATH) August 7, 2021

As we’ve written, early struggles aren’t anything to worry about with Burrow considering he’s ahead of schedule in his rehab.

Meanwhile, a new Bengals defender has thrown out a Tom Brady comparison while detailing how impressive it has been to line up against Burrow so far.