Among the questions that the Bengals have faced since quarterback Joe Burrow’s latest injury is whether there’s more they can do schematically to keep Burrow on the field.
Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher weighed in on that topic this week. Pitcher said that he thinks the Bengals have one of “the most explosive, best passing offenses” in the league and that anything they do to keep performing at that level is “going to incur risk.”
“We have [special skill players](https://x.com/KelseyLConway/status/1968036384058622032/photo/1),” Pitcher said, via Kelsey Conway of the _Cincinnati Enquirer_. “We want to accentuate those skill players. We try to do both things. How do we accentuate their skillset? How do we try to do it in a way that we’re limiting the amount of times that Joe’s potentially going to get hit . . . There’s no one decision that solves all. Everything costs something. So we constantly think about these things and, again, I hate that we’re in this spot and we will always evaluate and re-evaluate and do it over and over again. But we can only make the decisions in the moment that we feel give us the best chance to win.”
No one would argue with the idea that playing in the NFL requires accepting the risk of injury, so Pitcher is right that no one decision can take that away. The Bengals will have to figure out if there’s any combination of things they can do to help Burrow stay healthy because his extended absences keep the team from reaching its peak.
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