The Cincinnati Bengals might be getting quarterback Joe Burrow back sooner than expected.
Burrow suffered a Grade 3 turf toe injury in Week 2 that has kept him sidelined ever since. The initial expectation was that Burrow would be out until at least mid-December.
However, the Bengals opened the door for Burrow to be back much sooner than that, as the team designated him to return from injured reserve on Monday.
Cincinnati now has 21 days to activate Burrow or else he has to spend the rest of the season on injured reserve.
Head coach Zac Taylor said Burrow definitely will not play in Week 11, so the earliest we could see him now is in Week 12.
In the wake of Burrow being designated to return, FOX Sports' Jay Glazer shared this little nugget: Burrow told him he's going to be back sooner than expected and is aiming to return by "Thanksgiving-ish."
"Last week Joe Burrow told me he’s returning wayyyy sooner than was expected and gave me the timeline of 'Thanksgiving-ish,'" Glazer wrote. "Now will start practicing on a limited basis. Absolutely unreal attack of rehab and response. At first medical people didn’t believe he’d be back before playoffs."
"Thanksgiving-ish" would put his earliest return date at Week 13, which is Nov. 27 and exactly on Thanksgiving. If not, the following week is a logical expectation.
If Burrow doesn't make it back by Week 14 and instead returns in Week 15, that would be on Dec. 14, which would fall in line with the initial expected return timeline.
While that's all well and good, Burrow's return may be all for naught if Cincinnati can't string some wins together in the next few weeks. At 3-6, the Bengals can't afford to lose another game.
That said, Cincinnati has a brutal schedule moving forward, with games against the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens (twice) and Buffalo Bills in the next five.
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