Entering Week 12 with a 3–7 record and in need of a spark, the Bengals received some good news Monday.
Quarterback Joe Burrow, who returned to the practice field last week, will embark on a big milestone at practice this week as he recovers from a turf toe injury.
Bengals coach Zach Taylor gave an update on Burrow’s status during his press conference on Monday, one day after Cincinnati’s 34–12 loss to the Steelers.
“He did 7-on-7 last week, came out of the week feeling good. This week, the plan will be let’s get to Wednesday and see if we can work in some 11-on-11 and go from there,” Taylor said. “I think before we ever do that [11-on-11 work], there’s no reason to have a discussion about [his return to the field]. There’s steps we’ve got to follow. ... That’s getting bodies around him, seeing how he feels, how he moves.”
With seven games to play, the Bengals are three games behind the AFC North-leading Steelers (6–4) as well as the Jaguars (6–4), who currently hold the AFC’s final wild-card spot. Will the Bengals’ current postseason standing affect Burrow’s decision to return this season?
“Right now, he’s of the mindset that he wants to play football for us,” Taylor said. “We’ll just continue to get through his rehab progression and see where that ends up before we make any decision on how we want to proceed.”
Back in mid-September after suffering his injury in Week 2, Burrow had a reported three-month timeline to get back on the field, putting his first game back somewhere around the Bengals’ Week 16 game against the Dolphins. However, that timeline has been moved up.
Last week, Cincinnati opened Burrow’s 21-day window to be activated off injured reserve. That means if he’s going to play again this season, Burrow would have to be activated off injured reserve by Dec. 1 at the latest, which would mean he’d return by Week 14 against the Bills on Dec. 7.
Fox Sports reporter Jay Glazer reported last week that Burrow told him he’s planning on returning around “Thanksgiving-ish,” meaning the quarterback could be on the field for the Bengals’ prime-time clash against the Ravens on Thanksgiving Day.
Last week Joe Burrow told me he’s returning wayyyy sooner than was expected and gave me the timeline of “Thanksgiving-ish.” 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…
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) November 10, 2025
Long story short: If Burrow is playing again this year, it will likely be in either Week 13 or Week 14.
Cincinnati has seven games remaining on its 2025 schedule with four contests against teams currently with a record of .500 or better.
WEEK DATE OPPONENT
12 Sunday, Nov. 23 vs. Patriots (9–2)
13 Thursday, Nov. 27 at Ravens (5–5)
14 Sunday, Dec. 7 at Bills (7–3)
15 Sunday, Dec. 14 vs. Ravens (5–5)
16 Sunday, Dec. 21 at Dolphins (4–7)
17 TBD (flex game) vs. Cardinals (3–7)
18 TBD (flex game) vs. Browns (2–8)
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