NFL Week 11 Bengals Vs. Steelers post game review
Bengals Beat Reporter Kelsey Conway discusses the Bengals loss to the Steelers
The Cincinnati Bengals have yet to decide if quarterback Joe Burrow will play again this season.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor was asked on Nov. 17 about what’s next for Burrow in his return from toe surgery and if the team’s record will impact the organization’s decision on if they’ll let him play again this year.
Taylor said the first step for Burrow last week was to allow him to participate in 7-on-7 work with no contact and said his quarterback “came out of the week feeling good.”
Joe Burrow injury update
This week, Burrow’s workload will get ramped up and they’ll go from there.
“This week the plan will be let’s get to Wednesday and see if we can work him in some 11-on-11 and go from there,” Taylor said. “Before we ever do that there’s no reason to have a discussion on what the timeline is beyond that, because there are steps we have to follow.”
The Bengals are 3-7 and their most recent loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 16 essentially ended any possibility the team could make the playoffs. For the Bengals needed to beat the Steelers to stay competitive in the chase for the AFC North title.
They didn’t and now with seven games to go in the regular season, the organization will be faced with one of the toughest decisions they’ve ever had to make.
Should the Bengals let Burrow play when he’s ready despite the season being lost or keep him on the sidelines to ensure he is fully healthy for next season?
Zac Taylor update on Joe Burrow’s injury recovery
Taylor wants Burrow to get through each stage of his recovery process before making any decisions.
“Now we continue with the rehab phase next week and that’s 11-on-11 get bodies around him and see how he feels handling moves,” Taylor said. “Until we’ve done any of that there is no reason for me to speculate on where he’s going to be.”
Burrow wants to play this season when he’s ready. He’s a competitor and wants to get back to doing his job.
“I think right now, he’s of the mindset that he wants to play football for us,” Taylor said. “And so again, we’ll just continue to get through his rehab progression and see where that ends up before we make any decision on how we want to proceed.”
It doesn’t seem likely that Burrow will be ready to play on Nov. 23 when the Bengals host the Patriots. The next two games are the ones to keep an eye on for a potential return, if the organization allows him to play. Cincinnati plays the Ravens on Nov. 27 and then travels to Buffalo for a game against the Bills on Dec. 7.
Several big decisions are looming in Cincinnati.
