Eyeing Bengals OTAs, Burrow expects May return

CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow is still sketching out his recovery timeline after surgery to repair a torn wrist ligament in his throwing hand.

But if things continue to go according to plan, the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback has a date set on when he is likely to be completely cleared this offseason.

“I think middle of May is when I am expecting to kind of be cleared for full contact and everything,” Burrow told ESPN on Sunday. “Over the next month [to] month and a half, we’ll kind of decide all those things.”

Burrow said Cincinnati’s organized team activities is when he anticipates returning to full throwing sessions. He has started throwing small medicine balls as he returns from the season-ending surgery he suffered Nov. 16 in the team’s Week 11 loss to Baltimore.

The quarterback, who just wrapped up his fourth NFL season, said the timeline isn’t far off from what an offseason has looked like for him the past couple of years. Burrow said he normally doesn’t start throwing until OTAs. The time off has given him an extra 12 weeks to recover and work on any “inefficiencies and weaknesses” as the Bengals look to bounce back from missing the playoffs in 2023.

“I can lift basically normally now, which I’m excited about,” Burrow said in comments following a marketing event for his work with Guinness. “So the next two months, I’ll basically be just doing what I’ve done for the last couple of years Just the 12 weeks of extra work in the rearview.”

Last season, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft played in 10 games before the ligament tear. He completed 66.8% of his passes for 15 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Burrow’s season was bookended by injury issues. He had suffered a strained right calf on the second day of training camp, an injury that didn’t fully heal until the middle of the season. Burrow had a five-game stretch at full health before he suffered the wrist injury following a hit.

Last season also marked a step back for the Bengals. After reaching the Super Bowl at the end of the 2021 season and the AFC Championship Game the following year (along with winning their division both seasons), the Bengals did not make the playoffs and finished last in the AFC North.

On Sunday, Burrow acknowledged the injury problems but said they were only partially to blame for Cincinnati’s woes in 2023. When asked what it will take for the Bengals to become AFC contenders again, he said the youth on the roster will play a big role.

“We need the guys that we draft to come in and be productive and take on the leadership roles that we’ve lost the last couple of years,” Burrow said. “And we need to bring in the right pieces this offseason too, whether it’s the draft or free agency.

“Like I said, the injuries were what they were last year, but we weren’t good enough in a lot of different places to make a Super Bowl run in my opinion.”

Over the past few years, Burrow’s input has been valued by coach Zac Taylor, executive Duke Tobin and other decision-makers in the front office. Burrow said those conversations will occur as the Bengals reposition themselves to improve next season.

At last week’s NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, Taylor said the dialogue between he and Burrow is wide open.

“I always ask a lot of questions and he always gives me the information I need anytime I’ve asked him,” Taylor said.

Cincinnati has started the process of retooling the roster for 2024. Last Monday, the Bengals gave wide receiver Tee Higgins the franchise tag. In his final news conference of the season, Burrow voiced how critical Higgins was to the team on the field and in the locker room.

In his conversation Sunday with ESPN, he reiterated Higgins’ importance, noting that their time together dates back to 2020, when the receiver was drafted at the top of the second round.

“Having him back this year,” Burrow said, “obviously, I hope we’re going to have him longer, but it’s exciting for me to have him this year and then it’s a nice little payday for him. Then hopefully he gets another one here soon.”

As Burrow prepares for the upcoming season, he said what excites him most about the process is what faces himself and the Bengals as they chase the first Super Bowl win in franchise history.

“I’m excited about the challenge that we have,” Burrow said. “I’m excited about the challenge that I have coming back from injury.

“When you’re injured, your only rebuttal to the narrative is what you put on the field and how you produce, and when you’re injured, there’s no dialogue between the narrative and yourself. So I’m excited to kind of handle that in my own way and get back out there in a much better place.”