How Joe Burrow is easing his way back into Bengals practice
Well, well, well. Isn't that a beautiful sight? Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow doing actual football stuff! After going through an appendectomy earlier in the offseason, we had not seen much from Joey B. In fact, all we had seen from him was his riding around practice in a cart. At one point, he even […]
Well, well, well. Isn't that a beautiful sight?
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow doing actual football stuff!
After going through an appendectomy earlier in the offseason, we had not seen much from Joey B. In fact, all we had seen from him was his riding around practice in a cart. At one point, he even jokingly took part in the team's sprinting from the cart.
But Monday brought something different to the table.
That's because the face of the Bengals was out there moving around on two legs rather than on four wheels. At one point, he was even running around practice moving between stations. Although he wasn't participating, Burrow was close to the offense when the unit was running red zone drills.
Later in practice, the Bengals' quarterback did some quarterbacking. For the first time since his surgery, Joe Burrow was seen doing some "very light throwing," as Ben Baby from ESPN described.
Baby pointed out that Burrow also went through a mental walkthrough with his starting receiving core.
The Bengals' unit is expected to be one of the very best in the NFL this year and it's exciting to hear they got some work in with their starting quarterback, even if it wasn't physical. Not to mention that their QB1 fighting to get back to the field as soon as he can is likely a source of motivation for his teammates.
Here's a look at what the improv walkthrough looked like in practice, where you can see Joe Cool going through his reads before tossing the football back to Cincinnati's assistant equipment manager Tyler Runk:
This might be a small step in the right direction, but it's progress. And at this point, that's what matters.
When it's time for the regular season, the Cincinnati Bengals are expecting Burrow to be more than ready. And with the AFC North shaping up to be a tough division to win, every week matters.
Fortunately for the Bengals, their quarterback is exactly the kind of leader that will do everything in his power to be ready to go as soon as he's given the green light.
Monday's practice was the latest evidence of that.
That being said, Bengals HC Zac Taylor made it clear there's no timetable for Joe Burrow's return just yet.
While we await his return, make sure you check out A to Z Sports Film Room's breakdown on Burrow and the Bengals offense!
Featured image via Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
