Joe Burrow hasn't seen action since the Cincinnati Bengals' 31-27 Week 2 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars at home, the same game where he suffered a toe injury that has forced him to miss a total of nine games, thus far.
But it appears that even with the dim chances of Cincinnati making the NFL playoffs, the former LSU Tigers star quarterback will finally be given a go to play this coming Thursday for a Week 13 showdown on Thanksgiving Day against NFC North rivals Baltimore Ravens.
The Bengals were 2-0 with Burrow under center, and he is returning to action with his team having won just one more game since, for a 3-8 record. Notwithstanding Cincinnati's ugly record and the slim playoff odds, Burrow expressed his desire to join his team on the field after a long absence.
“I am a football player. … I’m not gonna ever go to someone and say, ‘Yeah, I’m healthy, but I don't think I should play.’ I am not going to live my life and play this game scared that something may happen,” Burrow told reporters on Tuesday (h/t NFL insider Jordan Schultz).
Burrow is on track to play versus Baltimore, as he's also been listed as a full participant during the Bengals' practice.
As for Cincinnati, it is facing long odds to gain a ticket to the postseason. The Bengals are third in the AFC North standings with a 3-8 record. They also have just a playoff probability that's less than one percent (0.31 percent to be exact), per NFL.com. A loss to the Ravens would eliminate them from playoff contention.
One can only imagine what kind of shape the Bengals would have been at this point in the season if Burrow had not suffered the toe injury in the Jacksonville game. Cincinnati first tried starting Jake Browning under center since Burrow went down with the injury before trading for veteran Joe Flacco to be its temporary QB1. Flacco has given the Bengals a win to date, leading them to a 33-31 victory in Week 7 over Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers at home.
In the two games he played this season, Burrow passed for 189 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions on 21-of-36 pass completions.
