Joe Burrow re-joins Cincinnati Bengals after recovery from season-ending wrist injury
The Cincinnati Bengals are celebrating today because, after months away in recovery, star quarterback Joe Burrow is finally back. Burrow hit the field with the team on Monday for workouts following his six-month recovery from wrist surgery.
Burrow suffered a torn scapholunate ligament on his throwing hand on November 16 which required surgery. The former LSU star’s recovery timeline had a mid-May goal for his return to the field, so it’s great news for the Bengals that he’s back this week.
The team’s social media pages shared clips of the franchise quarterback arriving for the day of work in a vivid tie-dye ensemble and also hitting the field with his teammates with the caption: “It’s happening.” They also posted a video of him throwing the football with quite a bit of zip.
Joe Burrow back for Year 5 with Cincinnati
Burrow likely has more weeks of recovery ahead before he’s back to 100%. He only began throwing small medicine balls in late February. Luckily, he’ll get that time to recover before OTAs. This week’s program is strength and conditioning only.
Burrow has taken Cincinnati to great heights in his short time with the Bengals. He boasts a 5-2 record in the playoffs in his career after leading the team to an appearance in Super Bowl LVI in 2022. The Bengals repaid him with a five-year, $275 million contract extension ahead of last season. It made him the highest-paid QB in the league.
The Bengals missed out on the playoffs last year after finishing the season 9-8 following two consecutive playoff appearances. The only times the team hasn’t made the playoffs recently is when Burrow’s been hurt.
Injuries have unfortunately been a major storyline in Burrow’s four-year NFL career. He suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee 10 games into his rookie season. This year, he only played in 10 games again for the Bengals after entering the season with a strained right calf from training camp.
Prior to his injury in November, Burrow had thrown for 2,309 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. He had a completion rate of 66.8%, which was lower than his two previous seasons.
To protect Burrow better in the future, the Bengals opted to draft an offensive tackle – Amarius Mims – in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. For a new offensive weapon, the team also drafted Jermaine Burton out of Alabama.