Bengals Beat: ‘Strong’ Joe Burrow ‘Is In A Good Spot’ And Ready To Return Around Thanksgiving – If Bengals Hold Up Their End Of Bargain

CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow is playing the game of wait-and-see on these 2025 Bengals. And he’s very wise to do so.

Speaking for the first time since tearing the ligament beneath his left big toe and other assorted injuries in the area, Burrow made it clear Monday that he will be ready to return if his workouts and practices with the team go as planned.

And that schedule has advanced much more rapidly than even the experts imagined. When he went down in the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 14 at Paycor, the thinking was he would have surgery for the grade 3 sprain of his left toe and would be out until at least mid-December.

“It was frustrating. They’re all frustrating,” Burrow said. “I was really happy with where I was at, so that part was obviously incredibly disappointing, the amount of work you put into it and then that to happen in that spot, it’s tough. But that’s life in this business.”

The Bengals managed to beat the Steelers on Oct. 16 and there was hope that the Bengals, at 3-4, had righted the ship and were beginning to figure out things. They had the Jets and Bears up next and had leads against both until the defense disintegrated and the Bengals collapsed in the closing minute of both games. They’re now 3-6 but with games against teams they’re chasing in the division, their only realistic shot at the playoffs.

“Our division is wide open. Pittsburgh’s 5-4 at this point. We play them this week,” Burrow said. “Everything is still there in front of us. 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.”

As for his return, Burrow has never taken the timeline of experts as scripture. He pushed his rehab hard and now, returning to practice on Monday and opening his 21-day window to return, means he could be back against Baltimore on Thanksgiving night.

But there’s a catch. The Bengals have to be relevant for the team – and Burrow – to want to subject his body to more wear and tear. That means the Bengals need to find a way to win one if not both of their next two games against the Steelers on the road and home against the upstart Patriots, who currently hold the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

If the Bengals can find a way to win both, they would stand 5-6 in the topsy turvy AFC North and have a chance heading into a Thanksgiving night showdown in Baltimore against the Ravens. Make no mistake, a Burrow return, despite how good Joe Flacco has looked in running the offense, would be an emotional boost for everyone in the Bengals organization.

“I think so. He’s one of the best players in the world, so anytime that player comes back and players have seen how hard he’s been working behind the scene with the trainers and strength coaches,” Taylor said. “I think it’s exciting when you see a guy who has put so much into coming back on the front end of a difficult injury. You can look at different timelines and he’s done everything you can to get himself back on the field, so this is just the next stage of his progression.”

But if the Bengals defense continues to fail and look incapable of stopping a nose bleed, there’d be no reason to risk Burrow at this point.

After going through yet another medical procedure on his football battered body in September, Joe Burrow is just glad to be back on the field with his teammates.

“Got to play some football (Monday),” Burrow said, taking his seat at the press conference dais for the first time since his injury. “Played some football. It felt good. It was good to be back out there. Good to be around the guys, toss it around a little bit.”

The Bengals on Monday took the next step in the return of their franchise quarterback by allowing him to return to practice on a limited basis so he can begin progressing to on-field activities.

Burrow has been on injured reserve since Sept. 16 after injuring the left big toe in the second quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Monday starts a 21-day period during which he may begin limited practice with the team without counting against the 53-player active roster. He is eligible to be activated to the roster during the 21-day period.

In the open portion of practice for observation, Burrow was stretching normally, able to jog in place and work on his agility with strength bands. He was able to throw passes from a stationary stance and off-platform where he scrambles and makes a pass on the move. The priority for now is to protect the repaired left big toe to ensure there are no setbacks.

“It’s an ongoing process. We’re figuring out what works for me, and I have to have a lot of hardware in there to protect it. So there’s been a lot that has gone into that,” Burrow acknowledged.

The list of Burrow injuries is well-chronicled. The left ACL and MCL in Nov. 2020. The right knee late in Dec. 2021 and in Super Bowl LVI. The appendix in July 2022. The calf injury in July 2023. The right wrist in Nov. 2023. And now the left big toe in Sept. 2025.

“I think muscle injuries are different from ligament injuries, and I’ve been through all of them,” Burrow said. “I know how to handle them. I feel really good about the repair. We feel good about how it’s been healing. It’s strong, I’m strong. And so we felt good about getting back out to practice and starting to test it out a little bit, hopefully return to play. So we’ll see where it goes.

“(It’s) another ligament injury. I know how to deal with those. On a scale of difficulty level, coming back, this one wasn’t really up there. I was back to moving pretty quickly and able to get back into my strength and conditioning level pretty quick. My body is in a good spot.”

But the team is having him split the first-team reps for now with Jake Browning since Joe Flacco is still nursing a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder and Sean Clifford is on the practice squad, and also mixing into the QB reps as well.

“You talk to a lot of different people. You talk to people who have been through it,” Burrow said. “You have an understanding of what the injury is and what the repair is. And then you just talk about it critically with the doctor and the physical therapist and everybody involved. And you just kind of take it day by day, see how it goes. See how it feels.

“I knew it wasn’t great when it happened. I typically have a good feel for those when it’s going to be fine and when it’s not. Obviously, was incredibly sad, disappointed, frustrated, angry — all the above. 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.”

Head coach Zac Taylor needs to keep Browning available if Flacco can’t go and Burrow won’t be ready. But when he is ready,

“I think he’s ready for this part of the recovery to come back on a limited basis and progress it. I think he’s at a good point. Internally this was always a good timeline for us. He’s worked really hard to get to this point to get back on the field in a limited form and excited to get him out there today.”

Added Burrow, “We’ll see how these next couple weeks go. There’s a lot that goes into it. There’s a lot of variables that you have to consider. We’re just going to see how these next couple of weeks go and see how it feels.”