Joe Burrow BACK at Practice AHEAD of Schedule: Will He Return This Season?

Joe Burrow BACK at Practice AHEAD of Schedule: Will He Return This Season?

Joe Burrow is ahead of schedule. The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback shocking the NFL world with a return to practice on Monday. You are Locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. What up Bengals fans and welcome to a little bonus episode of the locked on Bengals podcast part of the locked on podcast network your team every day. I’m Jake Liscoco. He is James Ripe and we’ve got some good news coming out of Payor Stadium is Joe Burrow well ahead of schedule has returned to practice albeit in a limited capacity for the Cincinnati Bengals. And that is a topic of this bonus episode. How Burrow returned to the field so quickly. what his plan is and what the Bengals need to do before he can return to play because it won’t be this weekend against Pittsburgh for Joe to actually take the field again this year. And James, this is unexpected news. Obviously, we’re less than two months removed from Joe Burrow’s surgery to repair that severe turf toe injury. Sounds like he’s been running for a few weeks. He said in his press conference after practice, he also mentioned that he’s been doing lower body lifting for a while. feels like this recovery has been relatively straightforward, especially compared to some of his other injuries. Says that he’s he’s very confident in his understanding of how to recover from ligament injuries at this point because he’s dealt now with so many throughout his career. But what a jolt it was on Monday. I’m I’m getting up, you know, as I do on the West Coast, having my nice slow morning. And uh suddenly Joe Burrow is practicing and I have to jump out of bed, get into gear, and start doing things. Yeah. Yeah. Don’t don’t strain your toe jumping out of bed. Jake, look, it’s it’s huge news. In the fir first things first, I want to address this and maybe I shouldn’t. There’s been a lot of people that said he shouldn’t do this. What about the defense? Oh my goodness, is he going to play defense? All those things. Look, anytime you can get Joe Burrow on the field or give him a chance to return, you do it. And that that was the case a month ago, a little over a month ago when they traded for Joe Flacco to try to keep their season alive. That’s the case now. And there are a bunch of factors that we can discuss that go into whether or not he is going to return. But early on in this process, they put him on injury reserve on September 16th. Early on that week of his injury, we talked about it and and I said, “Hey, he plans on coming back this year.” Whether or not that happens, I’m just telling you. I had good intel that that was the plan and that’s remained the plan and and so to do this I I I think my 10,000 foot view reaction now is all right well you have 21 days to save your season 21 days to show Joe that he should come back and maybe that only takes 13 days maybe that’s 12 days where the the what whatever the next two well it would be 13 days 13 days they have two games in the next 13 days a and and maybe that’s the case. And so then then you activate him on the the 24th, whatever that Monday is ahead of that that Thursday game against the the Ravens on on Thanksgiving night. Maybe it’s that way. Or maybe you go one and one and Joe’s not completely right and so you wait until Monday, December 1st. But basically from now until Monday, December 1st, it’s up to the Bengals to prove that Joe should come back to show everyone that Joe Burrow should come back and help it for a a maybe a December stretch run, but maybe as early as a Thanksgiving night AFC North prime time showdown. I mean, just boy oh boy, it’s uh I would not close the door on Thanksgiving uh one bit. I think that that door is pretty open, but the only way that stays open is if the Bengals somehow handle business in a big way this week against Pittsburgh. I think that’s the key is getting to 3 and 0 in the division, keeping that alive, uh, gaining ground, and and keeping pace in the North. Even if you lose to to the Patriots on the 23rd, as long as you handle business this week, then I I do think it’s going to give Joe Burrow a realistic chance to to come back because they’re going to have something to play for mathematically. And if you give him a 1% chance, he’s going to think he can hit that 1%. And if he’s healthy and they’re playing meaningful football, the healthy football player is going to play. Now, healthy is a relative term. Joe Burrow talked about that he is going to be tinkering with his footwear for the next couple of weeks to find something that works which will include some sort of supportive sole to protect the toes from flexion to try to prevent an aggravation of that injury. It’s worth noting that Kyle Party in San Francisco was wearing an insert in Brock Party. I was thinking Kyle Shanahan. Brock Perie was wearing an an insert in his shoe when he aggravated the turf toe injury. So, he went back had the insert in issue, aggravated it. Obviously, very different injuries, right? Non-surgical fory and surgical for Joe Burrow. he’s had a a distinct and dedicated rehab period that pretty a little bit different when you’re trying to rehab it on the go. But they need to to thread that needle, right, of where is the health and and the the health of that recovered and surgically repaired ligament, the strength of that surgically repaired ligament, how does he tolerate explosive movements? That’s something that he talked about. It’s not so much the throwing that’s the issue. It’s the okay, if I need to evade a guy in a pocket and explode off that left foot and really shove off of that the front of my left foot, how does that handle that sort of force? And those are the things that he needs to test over the next couple of weeks. But we have a couple of reasons that that were pointing to Thanksgiving as a potential return. One of them was Jay Glazer tweeting relatively early on on Monday after this news broke that Burrow told him last week that he’s returning way with four wise sooner than was expected and gave the timeline of Thanksgivingish and now he’s back to practice on a limited basis. There have been rumors going around, James, for at least a month that Thanksgiving was for Joe Burrow and and it was hard to to give those too much uh weight at the time. It’s hard to know where those are coming from, but I think it’s fair to say this was a surprise to everyone. Like, no one really had the inkling that this was coming today. And and to back that up, Vegas typically knows and and like prices in stuff like this. And maybe this is just because of the reaction, but the the odds shift for the Bengals to win the AFC North and Mo Edgar was on this at FanDuel went from 17 plus,700 this morning to plus,00 after that news came out that Joe was returning to practice. Obviously, a lot needs to happen here and we’re going to talk about that. Like, yeah, the defense that’s a huge issue. Yeah, can can they close out a game? That’s an issue. But uh I I think the unexpected news part of this really gets me because everyone I talked to about the turf toe recovery. This is ahead of any schedule that was conceivable at the time of that injury, even if he was planning to return this year. Someone text me shortly after this news came out and said Joe Bro is a psychopath. And uh call it whatever you want. He is. And and that’s why like he talked about it and and shout out to Joe for talking. He talked for over 16 minutes with the media. If you can watch on YouTube, I’m obviously not in Cincinnati, so I wasn’t there. Uh, that’s fine. I consumed it the way Jake Jake did and uh listened to every second of it. And he talked about like the the doubt and the mental stuff that goes with it. But I I’m so serious. I can’t hammer this home enough when I say the week of the injury. And if you go back and listen, the week of the injury, Joe had said, “All right, well, I’m going to come back this year.” And so even though he was feeling sorry for himself and he was down and he was probably depressed and angry and hurt and mad and all those things, even then he felt that way. And so I’m sure the the Jay Glazer thing, why why is the relationship there? I don’t even think that’s an NFL insider relationship. I think they talk about UFC and fighting and like that that part of it. Just so you guys just so everyone’s aware, I think that’s where that comes from. and and Joe is a freak and he wants to come back and he’s going to come back and and I was told early on like oh you know he’s going to come back early like because that’s just what you expect from Joe and if he didn’t then that’s one thing but I I have a big what if obviously I want to get into the the defense a bit more because there’s a lot of people focused on that and all of those things and hit on the things you just mentioned Jake but I have a a big what if that I want to run by you that I sort of ran by Robert Robert Winro on our what was supposed to be today’s show. This emergency episode is going to significantly be our show, but uh I ran by uh ran this idea by Robert. I’ll run it by you coming up next. Today’s show is brought to you by our friends over there at Pelaton. 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So, make sure you check it out and use it because it also helps you correct your form in real time, and it maximizes your reps. It counts your reps so that you can do it smarter, safer, and more efficient. Let yourself run, lift, flex, push, and go. Explore the new Pelleton Crossraining Tread Plus at onepliton.com. Today’s show is also brought to you by FanDuel. FanDuel is America’s number one sports book. And Jake just mentioned it. The AFC North uh it’s shifting a little bit in the Bengals favor. Whether it’s NFL, whether it’s NBA and the NBA is back, you you got to get in on all the fun with FanDuel where I got to be honest, especially with NBA, but currently with the Bengals, with the way the past couple of weeks have gone, live betting, well, you got to get in on the fun of of all of the live betting because FanDuel has live bets on everything from who’s going to score next to fourth quarter comebacks. The Bengals have dealt with a couple of those. Plus, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for an even bigger payout. All you have to do is go to fanduel.com right now to sign up. FanDuel is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. That’s fuel.com to sign up and play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. All right, Jake, the the what if. What is the show like right now if the Bengals had outscored their opponents 80 to 76 over the past two games and were five-4 instead of being outscored 86 to 80? They’re five and four. They’re in first place. They play Pittsburgh on Sunday to to get a a clear lead over the Steelers in the division. Oh, and by the way, Joe Burrow’s practice window uh 21day window has been open. What What is it? Because I danced at the beginning for those watching on YouTube. But short of throwing a parade, I think the dance might have been a bit a bit more intense, a bit more celebratory. It just it would have changed everything. And I hate looking back, but I can’t help but look back because everything would be right there had they just finished the past two games. Well, so it’s the thing that makes the the episode with Rob really pertinent here is that they they really did squander this golden opportunity in the last two games against the Jets and the Bears. They had no business losing to the Jets and they almost squeaked out a miracle win against the Bears. Even if they just win one of those games, how different does it feel today in terms of like the margin for error, the possibility that Joe Burrow can get back? Yep. The defense would still be the problem that the defense is regardless of whether they made like one more play or one less play or whatever it is or maybe the offense manages to make one more play in those games and and close those games out and the defense still does exactly what it does. we would still have those concerns about the defense. We would still be talking about the defense needs to play significantly better for this team to have a realistic shot. And and I think that that conversation would still exist. But the difference between the the margin of error that is now once again for the second straight season for the Cincinnati Bengals entirely non-existent versus the little bit of of wiggle room they might have had to to find a path through this division. Because Joe Burrow said this during his presser, right, James? Like he he’s acknowledging that the path to a wild card. Yeah. Is difficult. Like the the division, you play Pittsburgh, you play Baltimore twice. You you play the Browns. They’re not really in the division race, but you have multiple AFC North games ahead of you is the point. And if you can win out in the AFC North and then maybe you beat Miami down the stretch, maybe you beat Arizona down late in December, then you can you can get enough wins maybe to get there. Really starts with Pittsburgh this week. That that’s absolutely a big one. You’re absolutely right about that. The Patriots at 8-2 are looking uh like a a pretty fierce opponent. Although it’s worth noting that they haven’t had the strongest strength of schedule this year. Uh part of that is that they’re eight and two, but looking like a team that that is going to be difficult when they visit Pacore Stadium in two weeks. Got to win in the AFC North because as Joe Burrow said, like that is their path to the playoffs. And once you get to the playoffs, can you find a way to be dangerous? All the questions about the defense persist obviously, but getting Joe Burrow back is a jolt no matter what way you cut it. Even if you acknowledge, and we do, we acknowledge how good the offense has been, how many points they’ve scored, how they’ve been the most productive offense in the NFL the last few weeks, getting Joe Burrow back has to make that better. He is, no matter what the people on the social media say and on the internets are saying, James, significantly better at quarterback in football than Joe Flacco for all of the romance and poetry we’ve laxed about Joe Flacco over the last few weeks. For sure. No doubt. No doubt. He makes them better. He’s relevant. Getting him back matters. This idea that, oh, well, the offense scored so many points, you don’t need Joe Flat or Joe Burrow because you have Joe Flacco. Like, no, you could have arguably the best player on the planet when healthy and then have one of the most experienced backups that is clearly capable of putting up huge numbers behind it. That’s a hell of a one-two. That’s the one two I want. not half of it. And so, yeah, you can be flawed and like I said, look at the margin. Look how quickly things change. Look how one injury changed things for the Bengals, who even though they’re flawed in a bunch of ways, I have no doubt would have a winning record had Joe Burrow just never gotten hurt. And the Ravens are saying that today as well. And that’s why the Ravens feel like they’re going to win the division. And so, that’s why Joe Burrow, I’ll speak for him, he stopped short of it. But of course he’s targeting Thanksgiving. Of course he wants to come back. He wants to go to Baltimore and he wants to beat Baltimore. Then he wants to go to Buffalo and give Buffalo all they can handle uh on on 10day gap and then guess what? Welcome Baltimore back in and deliver the knockout blow like that. That’s what he’s thinking. Now will they even be in position to do that? Who the hell knows? And and that’s what sucks about the past couple of weeks. That’s the significance of the the next couple of weeks. But when it comes to like what Joe is thinking, he wants to go there and he wants to kick their ass on Thanksgiving. So whether or not that happens, there’s a bunch of factors, including the one of let’s say they win the next two and then they go there and Joe just plays bad because he’s coming off of an injury and it’s going to be really hard. Like that’s going to be really hard to go there, play well, prime time, short week, all of the above. Yeah. And AFC North road Thursday night game again in Baltimore again. It’s hard. And And so what I like is that he clearly is like, “Let’s do it.” And I’m sure he circled that that game two months, well, not two months ago because he wasn’t even hurt two months ago, which is the a month ago, and was like, “All right, that’s realistic.” And and part of the reason that backs that up is is Zach Taylor’s pretty non-committal on when Joe would return. He said, “We would never reveal a timeline, but this lines up with our timeline. They’ve clearly had a plan in place and it was a pretty aggressive plan and so far they’ve checked every box. Why wouldn’t that continue assuming he continues to check every box? I I I would expect if they handle their business on the field and that’s where my focus shifts now. I know Joe’s going to handle his business. I think he’s going to be ready to go for that Thursday night game on November 27th. And maybe I’m getting ahead of my skis and all of those things. Fine. But maybe I’m not. And now it’s up to the rest of the team, the rest of the coaching staff. Zack Taylor, I’m looking at you. The offensive line, I’m looking at you. The defense, obviously, I’m looking at you. Learn how to hold the tackle. You guys better do your job now because you haven’t on defense. And Joe could have thrown you under the bus on Monday. And he did not, by the way. He was like, “Oh, well, the defense was bad the past couple of weeks.” And he didn’t say it that way. But the defense has struggled the past couple of weeks, but the offense was bad to start the season, and the defense was playing well. And while that’s sort of true, it’s really not. Like the defense has just kind of been bad and it’s just been worse over the past couple of weeks in those those takeaways early against some bad kind of cover it up. Yeah. So So it’s uh Joe is giving you the chance. So take advantage of the opportunity would be how I would put it, which means tackle when it’s time to tackle Jake. And I just think about the the Baltimore Ravens comparison that you brought up. Lamar Jackson comes back, they start winning. I mean, they they started winning games, I guess, with Huntley, but one of the big differences, just one game with Huntley. Yeah. But then but then Lamar gets back the next week, right? Y So they they started winning again when Huntley entered and then they continue winning with with Lamar Jackson and the soft schedule that they have and everything, but a big part of that turnaround wasn’t just Lamar’s return. They’ve been in relatively close games or games where Lamar hasn’t necessarily played great for the entire game and kind of found his way in the fourth quarter, made the plays in the fourth quarter. A big part of that turnaround Yes, is Lamar Jackson’s return, but also is the Ravens figured some things out on defense and and they found ways to patch up holes and they they still have issues on defense, don’t get me wrong, but their results on the defensive side of the ball have been significantly improved. The Bengals will need that if if they’re going to really be contending. But first things first is find a way to to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and and we’ll see what the status of the Mike Tomlin Guju is. The the nine and eight record that is inevitably coming for the Pittsburgh Steelers and and the way that they’ve won some games or been in some games lately. But that’s where it starts is is with Pittsburgh this week and the team without Joe Burrow and with Trey Hendrickson sounding like he’s doubtful according to Zack Taylor on Monday finding ways to win games to to stay relevant enough for Burrow’s return to matter because one thing that really stood out to me James Burrow kept talking about we’ll see how the next couple of weeks go and it was the next two weeks which is another tip that he’s he’s looking at that Baltimore game to return that Thursday night game to return there. There’s numerous tips out there, hints that that’s the plan. We’ll see how the next couple of weeks go, both in terms of how his toe feels, as he’s saying, like testing it with more explosive movements in practice, and see how the team does because that is going to be part of it. If they lose the next two games, there’s a very real chance that they just shut it down for Joe Burrow. Yep. And they should. They should. That That’s why it’s so painful to lose to the stupid Jets, who stink, by the way. Ask the Browns. Ask Browns fans how they’re feeling today after losing to the Jets. They are Browns fans ready to fire everybody. Yeah, how embarrassing that is. You know, the Jets have a fire sale at the deadline after beating the brakes off the Bengals in the fourth quarter of a game that you should have coasted to a win. It uh that’s the one because if you were four and five even with that loss to the Bears, you go into this game against the Steelers, you win the game, you’re five and five, tied for the division lead worst case. Um and it’s Well, yeah, you’d be tied for the division lead, but you’d have the tiebreaker over the Steelers for sure. you’d be 3 and0 in the division. Everything would be ahead of you. And so, you can’t blow games. You’re going to have to make it up by winning a game or two that you shouldn’t win or you’re not supposed to win. Do it. Give Joe Burrow a chance. That’s uh that’s all we’ve been asking for since week two essentially. And so, wake up, Bengals. Do it. We’ll see if they do. We will continue to gear up for that contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers later this week. We’ve got plenty to get to this week, including later in the week, crossover, a preview. We’re back to football. James is eventually gonna have to go home. Beautiful background there for James RP for those. This is home watching Ohio River YouTube. Beautiful. Why would you ever need to go anywhere else? That’s going to do it for this episode, this bonus episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Until next time, thanks for listening. Who? Have a good

Joe Burrow returned to practice for the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday, less than two months after his turf toe injury was surgically repaired in September. That opens his 21-day window to return to the Bengals’ 53-man roster, but Burrow seems to be targeting a return for Thursday Night Football on Thanksgiving in Baltimore. Jake Liscow and James Rapien break down what it all means, and how the Bengals must remain relevant for Burrow’s return to matter.

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