CINCINNATI – During his post-practice news conference Thursday, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was asked if he had a favorite throw that he’s made so far in training camp.
Burrow paused for more than a beat, seemingly running through each throw in his mind before failing to come up with a definitive answer.
“Maybe the one to Trenton Irwin in 7-on-7 last week, I think it was,” he posited. “All the days basically run together, but I was happy with that one.”
Bengals WRs Shedrick Jackson, Charlie Jones Haul in Deep Balls From Joe Burrow
Twenty-four hours later, Burrow would have had a much more concrete answer. And so would anyone else who asked the same question after he unleashed one of those “wow” throws Friday afternoon on a deep ball to wide receiver Shedrick Jackson.
“It was traveling in the air for a while,” Jackson said. “It was like a punt, really. He hit me perfectly in stride.”
On Thursday Burrow said he was happy with how he felt health-wise and with his accuracy, but he said the deep ball wasn’t where he wanted it to be yet.
If something isn’t to Burrow’s liking, you know he’s going to work on fixing it.
Friday was that day.
“He clearly was on a mission to throw the deep ball today,” wide receiver Charlie Jones said, who caught a long one from Burrow one play before Jackson’s.
His first deep pass came in a 7-on-7 drill and missed Kendrick Pryor.
His second one was later in the same session, and it was far from pretty, even though it was effective. Mike Hilton fell down on the play, leaving Jones running wide open. Burrow threw a wobbler that found its way into Jones’ arms.
A checkdown followed, then came the second round of 11-on-11. On the first play, Burrow uncorked the shot to Jones up the right sideline, hitting him in stride for a completion despite pass interference from rookie cornerback Josh Newton.
“It was just a go route, just attacking his leverage and trying to win over the top,” Jones said. “Joe was being aggressive, and he threw a great ball where only I could get it.”
Burrow confirmed to Bengals play-by-play announcer Dan Hoard that Friday was the best he’s thrown the ball since his season-ending wrist injury in November.
Five observations from Day 8 of #Bengals camp:
1. Joe Burrow was cooking. Deep balls, off-platform throws, narrow window dimes. It was impressive.
“Today was the best I’ve thrown the ball I felt like,” Joe said. “It’s getting better every day. I’m figuring things out as we go.” pic.twitter.com/Ow33KhYrUm— Dan Hoard (@Dan_Hoard) August 2, 2024
On the next play, Burrow wanted to hit Jackson up the left sideline, but he got flushed from the pocket on pressure from Myles Murphy. Burrow rolled right, pointed where he wanted Jackson to go, and made a stellar throw on the run.
“I saw him (point), and we’re used to scrambling with him and know where he wants us to go,” Jackson said. “That’s been our plan, to be more aggressive and get more balls down the field, obviously. He has the strength for it, and we’ve got guys that can go get it.”
Burrow opened Thursday’s practice with a deep shot to Tee Higgins, but when he looked to go back to it later in the practice, it wasn’t open and he didn’t press the issue the way some quarterbacks do in camp when they try to test their limits.
The decision on whether to chuck it and see versus treating the practice rep like a game changes from day to day, he said.
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“Day by day, I’m kind of changing my mindset,” he said. “Some days, maybe I’ll be a little bit more aggressive. Some days I’ll play it like a game. Some days have a different emphasis. But every day is a little bit different on what we’re trying to work on.”
It was clear what the emphasis was on Friday.
“We’re improving every single day,” he said after Thursday’s practice. “We’ve got three weeks left to accumulate reps and learn and grow from all of those. I’m really happy with where we’re at.”
Happy Thursday. Happier Friday.
Injury Report
Rookie first-round pick Amarius Mims was back to work Friday after leaving Thursday’s practice early for reasons he didn’t want to get into.
Rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton was at practice Friday but did not participate at all, nor did undrafted rookie receiver Cole Burgess. Burton suffered a slight ankle injury Thursday, while Burgess left Thursday’s practice for undisclosed reasons.
Linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither did not practice for undisclosed reasons, and defensive lineman Cam Sample did not participate after being carted off Thursday with a lower leg injury.
Defensive tackle Jay Tufele (undisclosed) missed his third consecutive practice, while defensive ends Sam Hubbard (knee) and Trey Hendrickson (undisclosed) remain week to week for their return.
Backup offensive lineman D’Ante Smith (undisclosed) missed his second consecutive practice.
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