CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow is keeping it real in his rehab from wrist surgery.
He’s keenly aware of the fans’ reaction when the Bengals posted on their website and their social pages video of him throwing a football Monday inside the IEL Structure for the first time since his wrist injury last Nov. 16 in Baltimore.
Yes, it was a big deal. But it was more symbolic than anything. It was symbolic that his wrist has recovered and he has aggressively rehabbed following surgery to the point where he can grip and rip a football with his trademark pronated wrist.
“I think I’m fully cleared for everything other than contact right now,” Burrow said. “That’ll come in the next month probably. It’s no rush. The season doesn’t start for a while. We’re in a good spot.”
That’s great.
But Tuesday provided a much more meaningful and significant step. He was on the field for the first offseason practice with teammates. He was commanding a huddle, he was throwing live passes to the likes of Charlie Jones, Andrei Iosivas and Trenton Irwin. (Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and rookie Jermaine Burton were not on hand).
There’s no one who studies his own film or looks for ways to improve more than No. 9 in Stripes. He’s the most intense competitor in the building. And that was on full display again after Tuesday’s practice.
“Yeah, that part has never really been a problem for me,” Burrow said. “I’ve always been able to get up and go to work and make sure that I’m going to be where I need to be to perform my best. That’s my ‘why’. It’s always just continuing that drive for greatness continuing that drive every day trying to improve.
“I’m addicted to getting better. And that feeling, there’s nothing like the feeling of getting better because that makes the day to day really worth it. Once you start to see the results of the work that you’re putting in, there’s nothing like that and so that’s really what I’m striving for every day.”
“I’m in a good spot and going to continue to get better.” Joe Burrow pic.twitter.com/s8aWa6jncj
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) May 7, 2024
The passes looked accurate and strong, both in the pocket and outside on the move, with the exception of one wobbler on a sideline out to Irwin.
“It’s a work in progress,” Burrow said. “I’ve been throwing for about a month. So just like any offseason, you’re working through some rust. A little more this year than in years past, but I’m still working through everything — footwork, arm path, the little intricacies of the throwing motion. That’s something that I’m working through every day, and I’m gonna continue to hone and improve at.
“I was definitely able to continue to work on my footwork, but it’s always tough to work on that for me when you don’t see the results — being the throw. So you can do all that, and that’s great, but you never really know how it’s gonna work out until you get the ball in your hand.”
Burrow was showing signs that’s he’s well on his way but nowhere close to where he’s going to need to be by training camp in late July and certainly not close to Week 1 readiness. Then came a reality check from Cincinnati’s most famous athlete.
“I need to, first off, try to be out there for training camp, get as many reps as I can with the guys,” Burrow said. “I’m going to be smart about it. If I need a break, I need a break. The wrist maybe is going to hurt sometimes and I’m going to be honest with myself about how my body’s feeling, maybe a little more cautious than I have been in years past.
“So that’s kind of been a something that’s been on my mind for the last couple months. And so I’m getting better at that. It’s always a challenge to not push yourself in that way, but I’m growing and learning every year, trying to be a pro and trying to figure out how to best be available for my team.”
Joe Burrow- on play-action- just misses Charlie Jones on 50-yarder Tuesday at practice. pic.twitter.com/nO8UUE1GGU
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) May 7, 2024
Burrow knows – just as it was with the ACL rehab in the same stage of 2021 – there will be pains on the path to readiness in August and September.
“There is always going to be some pain when you’re coming back from injury,” Burrow acknowledged. “Throughout the rehab process that’s something that you just have to battle through if you want to come back from injuries like these. This isn’t a minor injury by any means. I’ve been through it with my knee. I know the pain that is involved in processes like these.
“I’ve been through it before and we’re kind of towards the end of this now, but we’re going to continue to improve throughout the offseason. The wrist has good days and bad days, just like the knee did. We’re still pretty early, we’ve still got a ways until the season, so we’re going to make sure we give it the breaks that it needs. We’re going to be smart about it, but on the days that I’m feeling good we’re going to go.”
He was asked directly if the wrist hurts when he throws.
“I’ll keep that to myself, but whenever you have an injury there is going to be some pain in spots,” he said.
He worked out for about an hour on the Kettering Health practice fields across Central Ave. from Paycor Stadium. Then he addressed the media for the first time since the end of the season presser on Jan. 8.
Tuesday must’ve seemed like a long time coming for Burrow following some of the painful days after his Nov. 27. Burrow’s been preparing for that first practice back since the start of April.
“It was about a month ago. That would have been the beginning of April, so somewhere around there. This was a difficult injury,” Burrow told me. “It’s been a tough several months. But physically, it’s not the worst injury that I’ve had.
“I’ve been through much, much tougher things physically. So that’s been a positive. I’ve been able to lift and continue my offseason program the way that it always has been. By the time that came around, I was pretty much able to lift and do everything that I needed to in the weight room and conditioning wise. So physically and conditioning wise, I feel really good.”
Joe Burrow with the play-action dart to Charlie Jones pic.twitter.com/UJKExr0EGW
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) May 7, 2024
Burrow is bigger and stronger, that much is plain to see.
“We’re bigger. Definitely bigger. We’ll see where I’m at at the end of the offseason,” Burrow said. “I feel good about where my body is at right now. I’m gonna continue to get stronger and bigger throughout the offseason and just play it by ear, depending on how I feel. Like I said, I’m in a good spot right now. I’m really strong, bigger than I was. We’re gonna continue to eat right, lift and go through my routine and see where I’m at.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is continuing to put very active feelers out about an 18-game regular-season schedule to increase exposure and – of course – revenue. Many NFL player reps consider this a non-starter if the league doesn’t add a second bye week.
“That’s definitely something that we’ve thought about it – 18 games is definitely a big ask,” Burrow said. “That’s not easy adding that extra game. Obviously it would be great for revenue, but I feel like adding that bye week if you’re going to have the 18 game schedule is pretty critical for our bodies.
“If you keep that first bye week, and some teams have the bye in Week 5, Week 6, and then you’re going 12, 13 games in a row that’s not easy. Probably a Thursday night game thrown in in there, too, so that’s never easy. Those two byes are pretty critical. Maybe you could do something like the first bye is kind of how we have it now and the second bye everybody has it once and you make it like the Pro Bowl week or something like the All-Star week for the NBA, I don’t know. People that paid a lot of money to have those discussions and make those decisions, but we’ll see how it plays out.”
Joe Burrow, like everyone else, was aware recently when both Trey Hendrickson and Tee Higgins made demands of the Bengals to trade them after a lack of extension talks. One thing Burrow made clear was his desire to see them return this season.
“Those guys have their business they need to take care of,” Burrow said. “I support them in every way. Both those guys have earned everything that has come to them and more. I’ll support them all the way through it. Whatever they feel like is best for their career – that’s for them and their agents and their families to decide – but we are here to win football games.
“I really hope both those guys are here next year because we are a better football team with both of them. They are both great locker room guys, too. They are going to do what they got to do but when the time comes for them to come back, if that time comes, we are going to welcome them back and hit our stride.”
Burrow led the path to a Super Bowl through Kansas City once before and nearly did it in back-to-back seasons, losing in the 2022 AFC title game. Burrow knows he’ll have to conquer Kansas City again (maybe even on Opening Night on Sept. 5 at Arrowhead).
“They were great. Their defense was one of the best in the league,” Burrow said. “They have great players on that side of the ball and then obviously, they’ve got Patrick (Mahomes) and Travis (Kelce) and their O-line and those play-makers. So, they’re the gold standard right now. Everybody’s chasing them obviously. Back-to-back world champs. Somebody’s got to knock them off. I’m hoping it’s us.”
