Joe Burrow is set to return soon. The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback is back practicing with the team after suffering a gruesome turf toe injury in Week 2. Burrow would instantly make the Bengals' already-potent offense much more lethal, but one question lingers.
Is it even worth it for Burrow to return this season? The Bengals are at 3-7 this season after losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 11. Given the state of the team this season and their shoddy defense, it would make sense for Cincinnati not to push Burrow back. That being said… Burrow is pushing to return, per Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler.
“What appears clear is that Burrow wants to play football, record be damned,” Fowler wrote for ESPN. “Whether he actually plays remains to be seen — the team will have something to say about that — but he's of that mindset right now.”
Graziano also notes that the Bengals' coaching staff and front office are incentivized to start Burrow to save their jobs.
“I expect him (Burrow) to play as soon as he's cleared,” Graziano wrote. “I still expect them to get him back on the field, because this coaching staff might need to win some games to feel fully comfortable about keeping jobs. And this team expected huge things out of this season. I don't expect the Bengals to white-flag it until the math says they're done.”
The Bengals' biggest issue has been their defense. Prior to their loss to the Steelers, the Bengals lost two games where the offense scored 42 and 38 points, respectively. Cincinnati's historically awful defense has put a lot of strain on the Joe Flacco-led offense, and he finally broke against Pittsburgh. The Bengals only had 12 points as Flacco came back down to earth.
There's an argument to be made that, given Burrow's lengthy injury history, he should use the rest of the season to stay in condition. That being said, the Bengals haven't exactly done a good job of protecting Burrow. We'll see if Cincinnati goes with Burrow's desire and lets him return to the field.
