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    Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow on Track to Resume Throwing by OTAs

    Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow offered an updated timeline for his recovery during an event for his charity Sunday in Cincinnati.

    CINCINNATICincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said he expects to resume throwing and full-contact work by the middle of May in time for organized team activities.

    Speaking with ESPN’s Ben Baby on Sunday, Burrow provided his first update since his press conference the day after the season ended when he still was unclear on the specific timeline for his recovery.

    Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow Eyes Mid-May Return

    “I think middle of May is when I am expecting to kind of be cleared for full contact and everything,” Burrow told ESPN. “Over the next month, month and a half, we’ll kind of decide all those things.”

    Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury Nov. 16 at Baltimore. The team announced he had successful surgery on Nov. 26, and Burrow remained around the team for the duration of the regular season as Cincinnati tried to make the playoffs for a third consecutive year.

    Before the Thursday Night Football game in which Burrow suffered the injury on a hit from Ravens defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, the Bengals had won four of five to climb above .500 after a dismal 1-3 start. That bumpy beginning was related in large part to a calf injury the quarterback suffered early in training camp.

    Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin addressed Burrow’s recovery at the NFL Scouting Combine last week in Indianapolis.

    “As far as I know, it’s going really well,” he said. “He’s been around the building a lot, rehabbing. He’s Joe, so you know that a hundred percent effort is going to go into it. He’s focused on it. All the reports that we’ve gotten have been very positive, so we expect a full recovery, and we expect him to continue being Joe.”

    Due to his immobility through the first four weeks of the season, Burrow posted career lows in yards per attempt (6.3), passing success rate (46.0), and passing yards per game (230.9).

    After going 5-5 with Burrow as the starter, Cincinnati went 4-3 with backup Jake Browning making his first career starts. Despite finishing with a winning record, the Bengals landed in last place in the AFC North, going 1-5 in division games. And they missed the playoffs for the first time since Burrow’s rookie season, which also ended after 10 games due to a season-ending ACL injury.

    “The injuries were what they were last year, but we weren’t good enough in a lot of different places to make a Super Bowl run, in my opinion,” Burrow said Sunday.

    Burrow’s comments came after he appeared at La Soupe, a Cincinnati organization dedicated to rescuing and repurposing excess food to feed those experiencing food insecurity, to benefit his charity, the Joe Burrow Foundation.

    As part of Burrow’s partnership with Guinness, the beer company gifted the foundation $500,000 during the event.

    Burrow told ESPN he usually doesn’t throw in the offseason until OTAs, with much of his routine focused on weightlifting and other body maintenance. His recovery slowed the process, but he has returned to the weight room.

    “I can lift basically normally now, which I’m excited about,” Burrow said. “So the next two months, I’ll basically be just doing what I’ve done for the last couple of years. Just the 12 weeks of extra work in the rearview.”

    MORE: Bengals News — March 4

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