Copyright Nbc Sports
When Joe Burrow went down against the Jaguars in Week 2, he knew something wasn’t right. Several weeks later, the Bengals have opened Burrow’s 21-day practice window with the idea that he’ll return sooner than later. Head coach Zac Taylor told reporters it won’t be this week, when Cincinnati plays division-rival Pittsburgh. But Burrow is on the road to playing before the season’s out. “I knew it wasn’t great when it happened,” Burrow said in his Monday press conference, via Jay Morrison of SI.com. “I typically have a good feel for those when it’s going to be fine and when it’s not. “Obviously, I was incredibly sad, disappointed, frustrated, angry — all the above,” Burrow added. “You let yourself feel sorry for yourself a little bit. It’s easy when a couple of days leading up to surgery and the couple weeks after when you can’t do much. And then it’s time to get back at it.” That time has come, as the ligaments Burrow tore in his toe have healed to the point where he can get back on the field. While Burrow has suffered injuries before, he typically hasn’t been able to return from them in-season. “I’ve been juggling the injury mindset where you kind of take a deep breath, then get back to it,” Burrow said. “Then juggling that with the idea I could potentially still play this year, and we could still be in it and all of those things. “There’s been a lot going on in my mind with those things. … It’s a difficult thing to juggle. Now that we are getting closer and closer, it’s more of a season mindset.” As for when Burrow may return, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports noted that Burrow told him his target date for return is “Thanksgiving-ish.” The Bengals play the Ravens on Thanksgiving night, with Burrow telling reporters on Monday that it would be “very” meaningful to return for that game. But he didn’t confirm that’s when he’ll return. “We’ll see,” Burrow said. One aspect of the motivation to return is that Burrow feels the AFC North is “wide open.” “I think Pittsburgh’s 5-4 at this point. We play them this week. Everything is still there in front of us,” Burrow said. “It’s very rare that our division looks like this, but it does this year and so, I think we’ll be at least in it until the end.” In his two games this year, Burrow completed 21-of-36 passes for 189 yards with two touchdowns. In 2024, Burrow led the league with 4,918 yards and 43 touchdowns, earning AP comeback player of the year after missing the last seven games of 2023 with a wrist injury.
