Bengals OC Brian Callahan: A Plan Is in Place for Joe Burrow To Play Week 1

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is back at practice, but he’s not fully back to work. Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said he has been impressed by everything he’s seen from Burrow the last two days of practice, but the team is squeezing the reins to keep pace with the agreed upon timeline.

What Is the Next Step in Joe Burrow’s Progression To Playing?

“He’s not doing a ton,” Callahan said.

“We’re still being real cautious about having people around him and having him have to react with the burst and the suddenness that could come up in a team period. I think he wants (to do) as much as possible. We’re just trying to be smart about when and where those things occur until he’s fully good to go.”

MORE: Cincinnati Bengals News — Reviewing the 53-Man Roster After Final Cutdowns

For the second day in a row, Burrow threw routes on air and in on 7-on-7 at Thursday’s practice. And while that doesn’t show the coaches everything they need to see, Burrow has given them plenty to be encouraged about heading into the three-day break.

We’ve missed this.@JoeyB x @Real10jayy__ pic.twitter.com/a11OhG75Dp

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) August 31, 2023

“You can tell he’s in shape, and his arm’s in shape, and his timing is good,” Callahan said. “All those things didn’t seem to be affected at all. That was a positive thing. You never know until you get out there what it’s going to look like. That part was great. He looked good the last two days.

“It’s been a couple of weeks since he’s been in pads on the football field with normal spacing and normal speeds and all that,” Callahan added. “To throw those balls, to get that timing down, to get back comfortable seeing a defense and playing fast and all that is probably a huge part of it. Obviously, the next step is getting those live, intense team periods that you feel all of it together.”

The one thing that has not been affected at all by the calf strain has been Burrow’s presence and participation in team meetings. Unlike last year when the emergency appendectomy and recovery caused him to be away from the team for a period of time, Burrow has been a constant presence around the building.

And Callahan said Burrow has taken that part of his game, which already was everything the coaches asked for, to another level.

“He coaches pretty actively now, probably more than he ever has. He’s not afraid to speak up. Now it’s not like he’s talking the whole time. He’s very selective with what he says and how he says it. And so it lands with maximum impact when he has something to say. He’s fun to listen to, and he’s got a lot of opinions about how things should look, and we listen to him. I think that’s what makes our setup pretty unique.

“As a coach, you’re always hoping to be able to just sort of fade back and let the players take control of it all,” Callahan continued. “When you’ve got a good team, that’s usually what happens. He’s gotten to that point in his career where he’s very confident in what we’re doing, how we’re doing, and his role in it.”

The Bengals will return to practice Monday before another off day Tuesday, then preparation for the Browns — and perhaps the intense team drills Callahan spoke of — really ramps up Wednesday.

The goal since Burrow went down July 27 was for him to be back in time to start the season opener, and Callahan said the timeline is trending toward that.

“I think he’s in a good place, and we’ve got a good plan in place for him to get ready for Week 1,” he said.