CINCINNATI — Despite the optimism Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow expressed Monday about Tee Higgins returning to the team in 2024, there still exists the real possibility that the final Burrow-to-Higgins connection was an 18-yarder in the Week 9 win against the Buffalo Bills.
The same goes for Tyler Boyd, with there being an even greater degree of certainty that his final pass from Burrow was a 13-yarder at Baltimore three plays before the season-ending wrist injury.
As Burrow continues his rehab, the focus shifts to the timetable for when he will throw his next pass, and which teammate might be there to catch in. Not in Week 1 in September, but this spring when Burrow is medically cleared.
What Timelines Matter for Bengals QB Joe Burrow’s Recovery?
“I should be good by OTAs, but we’ll see,” Burrow said. “It’s still pretty early on to really tell you.”
The Bengals announced on Nov. 27 that Burrow had undergone successful surgery to repair the ligament in his wrist. The estimated recovery time is four to six months, which would be late March at the most optimistic end of the timeline.
The voluntary offseason workouts begin April 15.
#Bengals QB Joe Burrow talks Tee Higgins and his thoughts on wherher he can be back next year. pic.twitter.com/YHVhkt1zM2
— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) January 8, 2024
With the futures of Higgins and Boyd — two of Burrow’s most frequent targets the last four seasons — in limbo, there would be increased value in the Cincinnati QB being medically cleared sooner than April 15. That would give him a chance to conduct some throwing sessions with receivers he knows will be back in 2024.
Ja’Marr Chase said last month that he would be there for Burrow if he wants to get together and throw, but the receiver said the two have not discussed any specifics of when and where yet.
Such a session could especially benefit Andrei Iosivas and Charlie Jones, who never got a chance to catch passes from Burrow during their rookie training camps. And by the time he returned, they weren’t getting many reps with him in practice or games.
Trenton Irwin is a restricted free agent, and the expectations are that he will be back. Like Chase, Irwin already has a lot of trust banked with Burrow. It’s not on the same level, obviously, but there’s a clear connection when Irwin is on the field.
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But as Burrow pointed out, every spring brings a bit of a reset.
“The offseason is an ever-changing thing that you go through every year,” he said. “And so once you get to OTAs, you gotta go through that process again. You gotta build the trust. You gotta build that relationship in the locker room so it translates onto the field.”
A couple of afternoons in late March/early April in a warm location such as California could help jump-start that process.
As for the other milestones along the way, Burrow said he’s still a couple of months away from doing any kind of weightlifting involving him gripping anything. But he is currently working out.
“Lifting legs, doing a lot of core, doing the upper body where we can,” he said. “It’s tough being able to grab or do anything like that. But we’re modifying it in ways that keep me in good physical shape. And we’re just going to keep getting better as the wrist gets better, too.”
Burrow’s main focus is getting back to full health and being able to do everything he normally would during the offseason program.
He said he might alter his approach some as training camp approaches, “laying off the gas a little bit.” But that’s something he decides this summer.
As disappointing and frustrating as the wrist injury was, coming just when the Bengals offense was starting to hit its stride, Burrow said it’s come with some reflection and appreciation for the position he’s in.
“It’s always tough,” he said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to play. That’s kind of something you always take for granted when you are playing, and you haven’t been injured for a while. And then it happens, and you take a step back and ‘Damn, I wish I was playing right now.’ So that’s always what goes through your mind after something like this happens.”
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