Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow returned to the practice field this week and appeared before the media Tuesday for the first time since injuring his right wrist in Baltimore in November last.
He’s been pitching for more than a month and is at the end of the planned six-month recovery process, but admitted he expects it will take time to get back to where he wants to be during camp. training at the end of July.
His presence, however, was the major victory. He threw deep, short, off-platform and in every direction you’d like to see at this point. He’s completely cleared for everything except contact, which is supposed to happen in about a month.
This doesn’t put the hurt behind him. Every day is still wait and see.
“I felt good the last couple days,” Burrow said. “I never really know how I’m going to feel until I wake up the next morning, but I’ve definitely been encouraged by the last couple of days.”
Physically, Burrow is encouraged but acknowledges it hasn’t been an easy road so far. The biggest challenge, he said, was the “uncertainty” and admitting they were “flying blind” since no major quarterback had suffered this type of injury before . He found himself consulting with linebackers and defensive linemen.
Joe Burrow goes over the first part of the exercises from today’s OTA media session. pic.twitter.com/RYWg73iUaP
– Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) May 7, 2024
“Any time you’re injured on the pitching side, you never really know how it’s going to go in the end, but I’m in a good position,” he said. “I’m happy with where I’m at.”
Every day that Burrow is moving and throwing, generally looking like his normal self, is a big day for the Bengals organization. There’s a long way to go to his first normal camp and preseason of his NFL career, but he’s in as good a place today as could be expected.
“There’s always going to be some pain when you come back from an injury,” Burrow said. “Throughout the rehabilitation process, it’s something you have to overcome if you want to come back from injuries like these. This is by no means a minor injury. I experienced this with my knee. I know the pain involved in processes like these. I’ve been through this before and we’re a little towards the end now, but we’re going to continue to improve throughout the offseason.
“The wrist has good days and bad days, just like the knee. We’re still quite early, we still have a way to go until the season, so we’re going to make sure we give him the breaks he needs. We’re going to be smart about it, but on days when I feel good, we’re going to go for it.
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(Photo: Cara Owsley / The Enquirer / USA Today)