When Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan was calling out his unit during the bye week, one of the areas he chatted with reporters about was the possibility of putting Joe Burrow under center more.
That started to come to fruition on Wednesday as the Bengals practiced ahead of their Week 8 game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Here’s a line from the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Charlie Goldsmith on that: “Joe Burrow is working under center snaps into his pre-practice routine. A new part of the program for a Bengals offense that could play under center more going forward, as Brian Callahan said last week.”
Going under center more can accomplish multiple things, giving defenses more they have to prep and account for during a game and potentially making it easier to run the ball.
Notably, this install is something that might have happened over the summer if Burrow hadn’t suffered the calf injury. And if they’re doing it now, it’s another sign that Burrow is at or about as close as he can get to 100 percent health.
Maybe the Bengals don’t roll out under-center looks against the 49ers often, but the fact it’s getting installed now after the bye week says much about where things stand.
