Joe Burrow says he 'can play as well as anybody' if he stays healthy for Bengals this season

Joe Burrow has but one simple, public wish for the season. The Bengals quarterback wants to remain healthy for the season.

Because if Burrow is healthy, NFL fans would likely see those fun post-season matchups between the Bengals and Chiefs with a Super Bowl possibly on the line. If Burrow goes on IR again, then Cincinnati likely falls back to mediocrity.

It really is that either/or. Burrow talked about his season goals in a recent interview with Complex Sports.

“Well, number one, I want to be on the field for all the games,” he said in the interview. “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 to 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, and feeling in tip-top shape,” the Bengals quarterback said. “And so that’s the main focus for the offseason.”

The Bengals start training camp July 24. And Burrow’s main goal probably will be to get through the first week unscathed. On July 27, 2023, right at the start of training camp, Burrow strained his calf running a simple team drill. He missed the rest of training camp and aggravated the injury in week two of the regular season.

In Bengals career Burrow has suffered litany of injuries

Maybe the Ravens are Burrow’s Kryptonite. He was playing Baltimore when he tweaked his calf. Then eight weeks later, he tore a ligament in his throwing wrist against the Ravens. A Thursday Night Football showdown between Burrow and Lamar Jackson turned into a bust. The wrist injury needed surgery and Burrow was gone for the season.

Burrow also suffered a season-ending injury his rookie season, months after the former LSU star was the top pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. There were other medical concerns in his NFL career. He’s hurt his throat, sprained the other knee, screwed up his elbow, dislocated his pinkie finger and needed an appendectomy. See why he really wants a healthy season?

Burrow rejoined the Bengals on the practice field in early May for OTAs. He told reporters then “I don’t ever 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.”

He did use an unorthodox training method to get his right wrist back into shape. He’s learning to play the piano.

“Hopefully, I can get pretty good at that by next offseason,” the Bengals quarterback said. “I guess it’ll be pretty tough during the season, but it’s helped my rehab too for my wrist, so that’s something I want to get good at.

“I’ve always wanted to learn how to play, but this was an opportune time to work on my hand and wrist dexterity while also learning that. So it was kind of the perfect storm.”