Joe Burrow threw without restrictions during spring practices for the Bengals, and he is expected to be full healthy by the start of the regular season. A key storyline for 2024 will be his ability to remain available for entire campaign, though.

The former No. 1 pick entered last season with concerns stemming from the calf strain he suffered in the summer. A dislocated wrist ultimately shut him down for the year, adding further to his missed time in the NFL. Burrow has suffered two ACL tears in his career, and twice in his four Cincinnati campaigns he has been limited to 10 contests. Rather than focusing on a quick recovery process this offseason, attention shifted to a longer rehab aimed at putting him in a better position throughout the coming year.

“Number one, I want to be on the field for all the games,” Burrow said during an interview with Complex Sports. “I know I’m going to play well when I’m out there. I’m at that point in my career where I’ve seen enough ball and I know myself that I can go out there and play as well as anybody in the game.

“The biggest strides this year are going to be my body and learning how to get through the season, get through practices with my body feeling tip-top shape. And so that’s the main focus for the offseason.”

If healthy, the 27-year-old figures to give the Bengals a strong chance of contending in a highly competitive AFC. The team did manage a 9-8 record despite needing to lean on Jake Browning to close out the season in 2023, but its offense – featuring a number of new faces – will of course have a higher ceiling with Burrow back in place. Cincinnati’s receiving corps no longer includes Tyler Boyd, leaving the tandem of Ja’Marr Chase and franchise tag recipient Tee Higgins in place atop the depth chart; that pair has proven to be a strong pass-catching asset for Burrow.

Of course, expectations will remain high for the latter as he is tied with Trevor Lawrence for having the league’s highest AAV ($55MM) on his contract. Burrow is on the books through 2029, and his availability will be a central aspect of the Bengals’ success for the foreseeable future. It will be interesting to see if he makes progress this offseason with respect to improving his pain management and overall ability to stay on the field considering the importance of doing so for team and player in this case.

Joe Burrow has proven to be one of the league’s top quarterbacks over the course of his career, but injuries have been a factor in that span as well. The Bengals’ franchise passer is in the midst of rehabbing the dislocated wrist which ended his 2023 campaign, and his mindset in doing so is different than in years past.

Burrow was not on a pitch count during OTAs and minicamp, an encouraging sign of his progress in recovery so far. When speaking about his status, he added he is still not 100%, but he should be at full strength in time for the start of the regular season. Remaining healthy for a full campaign will be critical for Cincinnati’s success, and the former No. 1 pick noted his history of being sidelined when addressing his most recent ailment.

“Whenever the injuries start to stack up, your football mortality kind of comes into the back of your mind,” Burrow said (via NFL.com). “So that’s definitely something I’ve thought about and something I have had to fight through.”

The 27-year-old (who is attached to the five-year, $275MM extension he signed last offseason) has suffered multiple torn ACLs in his career, and a calf strain suffered last summer had an impact on his 2023 performance prior to the wrist injury which shut him down. Burrow has played through pain on a number of occasions, but he and the team have adopted a different strategy this year in that regard. Focus will be placed on a slower rehab process as the offseason unfolds with an emphasis on being at full strength for the fall.

“That’s something we’re being more proactive about this year,” the LSU alum added. “We don’t have to be ready to go in the middle of June. We have to be ready to go early September through February. That’s how we’re attacking this offseason and this rehab plan and these practices and training camp.”

Jake Browning is still in place as Cincinnati’s backup quarterback after he generally fared well in Burrow’s stead last season. If all goes according to plan, the former UDFA will not be counted on nearly as much in 2024, of course, but Burrow’s status will remain worth monitoring throughout the summer.

The Bengals’ 2024 season was dealt a major blow when Joe Burrow was shut down due to a torn wrist ligament. His latest ailment threated to cause missed time in the offseason, but that has not turned out to be the case.

Burrow resumed throwing in the early portion of Cincinnati’s offseason program. Unlike most teams, the Bengals have yet to start OTAs. When they begin tomorrow, however, Burrow will be participating. In terms of workload in any one session, there will notably be no restrictions.

“We designed the whole thing to stay within the constraints of where the medical people think he should be and where he wants to be right now,” offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said (via the team’s website). “Nobody is sitting there with a special pitch counter. But we’ve been smart how we put it together.”

It would come as no surprise if the team took a cautious approach with Burrow this summer, and Pitcher’s comments confirm his rehab is being taken under consideration regarding his workout schedule. The Pro Bowler has dealt with injuries on a regular basis during training camp, rehabbing his ACL tear in 2021, undergoing an appendectomy the following year and dealing with a calf strain in 2023. A fully health training camp would certainly be welcomed by both team and player this time around.

The Bengals’ offense will have a number of new faces in 2024, with Pitcher replacing Brian Callahan as OC (although head coach Zac Taylor will retain play-calling duties). Longtime running back Joe Mixon is no longer in the fold, nor is veteran receiver Tyler Boyd. Expectations will nevertheless remain high for Burrow if he manages to put together a healthy campaign. Cincinnati managed a 9-8 finish last year despite Burrow missing seven contests.

That mark was insufficient for a playoff berth, but a return to the playoffs will not be out of the question if Burrow can regain his previous form in 2024. The 2021 Comeback Player of the Year’s health status will remain worth watching closely as the summer unfolds, but he will be taking starter’s reps at OTAs in a positive sign for his long-term outlook.

Nearly six months after suffering a torn wrist ligament, Joe Burrow is throwing to his receivers. The Bengals franchise quarterback hit a significant milestone in his recovery from a wrist injury, as the team’s website passes along that Burrow was participating in the team’s offseason program today.

Monday marked the start of the second phase of the Bengals’ voluntary offseason program. When Burrow underwent surgery to repair a damaged ligament in the middle of his right wrist, it was uncertain when the quarterback would return to the practice field. There were rumblings that Burrow might not start throwing until training camp, but the veteran ended up beating that timeline by almost three months.

While today’s practice wasn’t open to the media, many members of the Bengals organization were excited about Burrow’s recovery, including new QB coach Brad Kragthorpe.

“I think he looked as quick and as athletic as I’ve seen him look,” Kragthorpe told the team’s website. “He looked like the Joe Burrow we’re used to seeing. I didn’t see any difference. I thought the ball came out of his hand well. Confidently. I’m happy where he’s at.”

The late-November surgery ended an injury-marred 2023 campaign for Burrow. Prior to his season-ending injury, the QB was slowed by a calf issue during training camp. That injury continued an ongoing theme where Burrow would miss extended time during training camp (following recovery from an ACL injury (2021) and an appendectomy (2022)).

Burrow previously admitted to ESPN’s Ben Baby that he normally “wouldn’t be throwing until OTAs really anyway,” so the QB sounds like he’s a bit ahead of his standard offseason regimen. Still, given the player’s list of offseason setbacks, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the organization eventually pumps the brakes and takes it slow with their franchise quarterback.

After Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending torn thumb ligament during a Thursday night loss to the division-rival Ravens in Week 11, the NFL decided to conduct an investigation into whether or not Burrow should have been included on the injury report prior to the matchup. The result of the investigation was reported on today by Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports with Jones stating that the league found no wrongdoing as Cincinnati was “in full compliance with the league’s injury report policy.”

The investigation was deemed necessary after an intriguing series of events that saw the Bengals’ social media team delete a post that showed the team arriving in Baltimore. Closer inspection of video revealed that Burrow has an apparatus on his wrist, the same wrist that he would eventually injure against the Ravens. This led many to believe that the Bengals were perhaps covering up a potential injury from the NFL and their opponents, which would be against NFL regulations.

Officially, teams are required to disclose injuries in the spirit of fairness, so that an opposing club has the ability to strategize against the correct personnel. It’s also in the best interest of the players, as playing with injuries can lead to more severe consequences for the individual. In theory, if a team fails to report concussion symptoms from a practice injury, the NFL would be unable to hold that player from participation. Unofficially, now that gambling has become a prevalent source of income for the NFL, accurate injury reports become crucial for the appropriate setting of lines. Unknown injuries, especially at a position as critical as quarterback, could result in major line swings.

The Bengals immediately denied any wrongdoing, with team doctors claiming that Burrow’s injury was “acute and not one that happened over time.” Burrow would later claim that the apparatus was merely a compression sleeve used to help prevent swelling during flights and was unrelated to any injuries.

Regardless, Cincinnati turned over medical records and practice footage from the week prior to the game. After reviewing the materials and interviewing Burrow and relevant medical personnel, the league determined that the team had been in compliance with their reporting. Burrow successfully underwent wrist surgery at the end of November and is expected to return to play well before the start of the 2024 season.

While some have speculated that the league’s young ties to the betting world made this their only possible conclusion, the Bengals have avoided the potential punishment of a team fine, individual fines, or the loss of future draft picks. The team reportedly followed the necessary protocol on disclosing their injuries and should have Burrow back next year.