The last time we saw Joe Burrow in an NFL game was last Nov. 16. He threw a pass during a prime-time game against the Baltimore Ravens, grabbed his wrist in pain and his season was over.
The future of the Cincinnati Bengals is tied to Burrow’s return. They were competitive without Burrow but their shot at a Super Bowl vanishes if he isn’t back to his old form.
So far, so good. Burrow is back throwing at the Bengals OTAs and says he’s doing well in his recovery from surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist.
“Feel great, it’s good to be back,” Burrow said as he met with the media. “Felt good the last two days, so I never really know how it’s going to feel until I wake up the next morning, but I was encouraged by the last couple of days. For sure.”
Presumably the next time we see Burrow in a game, he’ll look like the star quarterback we’re used to seeing.
Joe Burrow ‘in a good spot’
Burrow said he started throwing a month ago and that is going well.
He hasn’t been cleared for contact yet but he said that should come next month, and there’s no rush because training camp is months away. Burrow said he’s emphasized his diet and workouts and is “definitely bigger” with muscle mass as he works on everything leading up to next season.
“We’re in a good spot,” Burrow said.
He sounded fairly confident but he did admit there have been challenges in coming back from a major injury to his throwing arm. Burrow said he didn’t know of any other quarterbacks who had dealt with the same injury.
“The uncertainty,” Burrow said. “Whenever you have an injury to your throwing side you’re never quite sure how it’s going to turn out at the end. But I’m in a good spot, I’m happy where I’m at and I’m going to continue to get better.”
Burrow working through rehab
Burrow has experience coming back from a major injury. He tore his ACL as a rookie. He said that was worse than the wrist injury.
“This was a difficult injury, it was a tough several months but physically it’s not the worst injury I’ve had,” Burrow said. “I’ve been through much tougher things physically.”
Burrow said he has good days and bad days with the wrist, and he and the team will back off when he needs it this offseason. Burrow did say there has been some pain in his wrist through the rehab process, though he didn’t specify what has been in pain, and he’s battling through it.
“This isn’t a minor injury by any means,” Burrow said.
Burrow said his timetable for recovery was 6-7 months, and he’s almost at the end of that.
“At this point it’s just about getting ready to play football,” Burrow said. “It will continue to get better.”
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