Joe Burrow is back!
Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylortold reporters on Monday, November 24, that he expects Burrow, 28, to be ready to return as quarterback on Thanksgiving night from the turf toe injury that has kept him sidelined since week 2.
Burrow confirmed it in the funniest way possible.
Taking to his Instagram Story, Burrow reposted the iconic mirror selfie he first posted via Snapchat back in 2014 when LeBron James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers after a four-year stay with the Miami Heat. In the pic, a high school-aged Burrow, who is a lifelong Cavaliers fan, is wearing the way-too-tight Cavs No. 23 jersey that he says he got when he was nine years old. Burrow wrote "he's back" over the photo.
Burrow last played in the Bengals' September 14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati is 1-8 since his injury.
The Bengals' recent struggles have made the team's playoff chances nearly impossible, leading some to say the team should shut Burrow down for the rest of the year, rather than bring him back and risk further injury.
Taylor, 42, doesn't see it that way.
"He's worked really hard to get himself back," the coach told the media on Sunday, November 23, after the Bengals lost to the New England Patriots. "He's a football player. He wants to play football. We want to win football games, so that will lead into that decision."
Taylor added on Monday that Burrow is "in good shape right now and will be ready to go." If he plays, veteran quarterback Joe Flacco will serve as Burrow's backup.
"There's a balance there of obviously him coming off of injury," he continued. "You want to be very mindful of that. And a lot of that will be up to him as he feels his pocket movement and his play style. Those are decisions that he's gonna have to feel out as he goes forward. Sure, I'd love to say let's be productive and not put him in an environment where that's gonna happen. You get out there on the football field and that's the way it's gonna take shape. … It's the NFL. You can't go out there with kid gloves on and say we're never gonna let this happen. Some things are gonna happen naturally. It'll be in his hands to take care of it if he's out there."
Burrow himself talked about wanting to get back on the field for the Thanksgiving game against the Baltimore Ravens, which he labeled as "meaningful," during a November 10 press conference.
He added that he has struggled to be on the sideline while his teammates are losing games, calling it "lonely."
"You try to do what you can and just grind by yourself in the weight room and in the training room when trying to get right," Burrow said. "There's not much more you can do. You're not out there with the guys, you're not at practice, so return from injury is pretty lonely."
The Bengals and Ravens will kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 27. The game will air on NBC and stream on Peacock.
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