Well, it's official: the Cincinnati Bengals will wait for one more week for Joe Burrow to return. The Bengals have made the decision to keep Burrow on the bench for their Week 12 game against the New England Patriots.
“Joe Burrow (toe) will not play against the Patriots,” Dianna Russini reports. “League sources say that the Bengals made the decision Friday to roll with Joe Flacco for another week, with the hope that Burrow will return to the lineup Thanksgiving night against the Ravens.”
Ian Rapoport notes that Burrow will not be placed on the active roster just yet. Joe Flacco still remains as the Bengals' starter, but it also means that Jake Browning will serve as the backup and the replacement in a pinch.
“#Bengals QB Joe Burrow, attempting to come back just over two months after surgery to repair Grade 3 turf toe, won’t be moved to the active roster just yet, source said,” Rapoport wrote. “He’ll remain on IR. Joe Flacco starts, once again. But Burrow’s time is coming.”
Burrow has been making a hard push to return to the field as soon as possible. The Bengals quarterback suffered a turf toe injury back in Week 2. At the time, the timeline for Burrow's return was slated to be three months at least. Over the last few weeks, though, Burrow has been working hard to shorten that timeline by a few weeks.
With the Bengals playing two games in five days this week (vs. Patriots on Sunday, then against the Ravens on Thursday), it was not a good idea for Burrow to play in Week 12. The star quarterback will target a return on Thanksgiving, where he'll face a familiar foe in the Ravens.
