CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow is back at Bengals practice — at least in a limited capacity.
The Bengals said in a release their star quarterback's 21-day window to return to limited practice with the team begins today. He can then be activated to Cincinnati's roster at any time during that window.
"To continue the recovery process for QB Joe Burrow, the Bengals today advanced him for a limited return to practice so he can begin progressing on-field activities," the team said.
Burrow has been on the injured/reserve list since Sept. 16 after he injured his toe during Cincinnati's home opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bengals attempted to get a second opinion on his turf toe, but the franchise quarterback had to have surgery.
"Obviously, (I) was incredibly sad, disappointed, frustrated, angry ... feel sorry for yourself a little bit ... and then it's time to get back at it," Burrow said of his recovery post-surgery.
Explaining why Joe Burrow had to have surgery for turf toe
Officials have stated that he will be out at least three months, which would mean a return in mid-December if everything goes right during recovery. This 21-day window could mean an earlier return than originally thought.
Burrow told reporters "we'll have to see how these next couple weeks go" to see when he'll be back.
"There's a lot of variables that you have to consider," he said.
One of those variables could be whether the Bengals can stay in the playoff hunt. While they currently have an abysmal 3-6 record, they're still very much alive in the AFC North, where the Steelers and Ravens sit above them at 5-4 and 4-5, respectively.
"Our division is wide open ... everything is still there in front of us. It’s very rare that our division looks like this, but it does this year, and so I think we’ll at least be in it until the end," Burrow said.
