Bengals' Joe Burrow hits significant milestone in injury recovery

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 BradKragthorpe.

“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.