LSU Football: Joe Burrow has already made his presence felt in Cincinnati

LSU football’s Joe Burrow is ready to take the NFL by storm.

It’s been seven days since the Cincinnati Bengals selected LSU football’s Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

And Burrow has already made his presence felt in a big way.

On Thursday, the Bengals released veteran quarterback Andy Dalton, who had been with the franchise since 2011.

Dalton was Burrow’s only real “competition” for the Bengals’ starting quarterback job.

With Dalton out of the picture, the job is officially Burrow’s.

(The other quarterbacks on Cincinnati’s roster are Ryan Finley and Jacob Dolegala.)

Of course, it’s not like anyone actually expected Dalton to stick around and beat Burrow out for the job. The Bengals wanted to trade Dalton, but they couldn’t find a suitable trade partner.

Still, this is an important moment in Burrow’s career. After the draft, Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor wouldn’t commit to Burrow being the opening day starter for the Bengals. That was a classy move by Taylor, since Dalton was still on the roster at the time.

The release of Dalton, however, is basically Cincinnati’s way of handing Burrow the reigns. This is his team.

Which kind of makes for an interesting dynamic. Most of the time, NFL franchises want some sort of competition for a rookie quarterback. Competition brings out the best in players, right?

But with Burrow, a quarterback competition probably isn’t necessary. His desire to win, and improve the play of those around him, is so intense that he doesn’t need any extra motivation.

It sounds like the Bengals recognize that trait in him. They’re obviously comfortable moving forward with the young quarterback. And they don’t think he needs any extra grooming. The Bengals see Burrow as a quarterback who is ready to lead now.

I’d say they’re probably handling this the correct way — Burrow is the best rookie leader I’ve ever seen.