Joe Burrow hasn’t even stepped foot inside the Bengals facility after being selected with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft due to the coronavirus but it appears the franchise is already eager to hand the rookie signal-caller the starting role in Cincinnati.

Based on his play last season, you can’t blame the Bengals for being eager to start the Burrow era as the reigning Heisman Trophy winner completed 76.3 percent of his passes for 5,671 yards with a 60-6 touchdown to interception ratio for LSU last season.

The Bengals selected Burrow despite having veteran quarterback Andy Dalton on the roster but the team has made the decision to release Dalton on Thursday according to multiple reports. Dalton’s release in Cincinnati was first reported by ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter.

Leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft, the Bengals decided to keep No. 1 receiver AJ Green and selected former Clemson standout receiver Tee Higgins at the top of Round 2 in the draft. Based on those moves, it appears the franchise is doing its best to surround Burrow with talent as he makes the difficult transition to life in the NFL.

Making that transition as smooth as possible, and surrounding Burrow with talent, should be the top priority in Cincinnati as the Bengals are only going to go as far as Burrow can take them starting as soon as next season.