Joe Burrow had an encouraging 2020 debut season as the starting QB for the Cincinnati Bengals until he tore his ACL, but reports from early on in 2021 training camp are worrying, to say the least. As he takes on full reps after recovering from the injury, Burrow's throws haven't just been slightly off – they've been noticeably bad, according to a report from The Athletic's Jay Morrison and Paul Dehner Jr:

“Joe Burrow. It’s just not good right now. Throws that felt like layups last year are dropping harmlessly away from receivers or easily broken up by multiple defenders. There might be a multitude of reasons for the struggles, but this has been ugly.”

Burrow also seemed to have low confidence in the health of his knee, as “At one point, pressure pushed into his face and Burrow lifted his leg into the air almost to avoid any accident with the close pocket. It makes you wonder if the knee is still in his head, but that’s strictly guesswork. The bottom line is there’s no way to say his play looks comfortable at this point and this isn’t at all what you have seen from Burrow even in the early camp moments of last season.”

Though it's early on, Bengals fans have to be concerned about Burrow's recovery from his injury. He suffered the injury only eight-and-a-half months ago, and a rush back to full play could not only affect his play this year, but even cause injury to strike once again.

These reports once again beg the question: why didn't the Bengals go after more help on the offensive line? Burrow was under siege all of last season due to the Bengals' poor pass-blocking, and instead of addressing the need with a stud on the line, the Bengals used their No. 5 overall pick on Ja'Marr Chase, a receiver.

It's great to have talent at skill positions, but what good is that talent when you can't protect your quarterback from injury? Hopefully all goes well as Burrow comes back from such an ugly scare, but signs aren't looking great so far.