Carson Palmer knows exactly what Joe Burrow is facing right now as he prepares to join the Bengals as the first overall pick in the NFL draft. And Palmer thinks Burrow is going to need some time to turn the franchise around.
Palmer, who was drafted first overall by the Bengals in 2003, says Burrow has to be patient with himself and get patience from everyone else as he tries to help the worst team in the league last year rebuild.
“If you get shellacked in Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, just keep fighting,” Palmer said on Arizona Sports 98.7. “Because they are a couple steps behind, personnel-wise. There’s a reason they’re drafting No. 1, it’s because they’re a couple years away. So just come in and know that it’s gong to be a rough start from the jump. But coming off a national championship, coming off all the success he’s had at the collegiate level, maybe his work ethic can come in and create a culture there that there’s a certain level of commitment, a certain level of work ethic and expertise and professionalism that he can bring in and I hope to see that rub off on all the guys around him.”
The Bengals showed a lot of patience with Palmer, who never stepped on the field as a rookie. Burrow won’t get that much patience, but he’ll probably go through the usual rookie growing pains, and he’ll certainly lose a lot more games in Cincinnati than he lost at LSU.