The Bengals have designated QB Joe Burrow for return off IR.
Burrow has been on IR since he suffered a turf toe injury in week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
This does not yet mean that Burrow is officially off IR. It does, however, mean that he is ready to begin practicing with the team in some capacity.
A 3 week window has opened up for Burrow to practice with the team without counting towards the roster limit. The Bengals will have to activate him during this window for him to be eligible to return. If they don’t, he will remain on IR for the rest of the season.
It seems like Burrow is targeting week 13 or 14 for a return, where he would face either the Ravens or Bills.
The Bengals, of course, are technically still in the playoff race, especially after the Steelers lost to the Chargers over the weekend. That being said, the Ravens are likely the favourites to win the division at this point, with Lamar Jackson having returned to action.
If the Bengals lose the next couple of games, they’ll likely be out of it by the time Burrow comes back, which would make for an interesting situation. The star QB, certainly, would want to play. However, the team would have to decide if shutting him down is the smarter option.
But the Bengals still have some time before they get to that point. With Joe Flacco under center for at least a couple more games, we’ll see if they are able to get things back under control, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
