Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow expressed optimism and determination as he recovers from a wrist injury that prematurely ended his 2023 season. At Tuesday’s team’s mandatory minicamp, Burrow opened up about the mental challenges of dealing with recurrent injuries and his readiness for the upcoming season.

Burrow, entering his fifth year with the Bengals, acknowledged the psychological toll of frequent injuries, which include a torn left ACL, strained right calf, ruptured appendix, and most recently, a torn ligament in his throwing wrist. “Whenever the injuries start to stack up, your football mortality kind of comes into the back of your mind,” Burrow told ESPN. “So, that’s definitely something I’ve thought about and something I have had to fight through.”

Despite the setbacks, Burrow remains confident in his recovery process and aims to be fully prepared for the season. “I’ll be ready to go by the season,” he assured, refraining from specifying his current recovery percentage.

Throughout the offseason, Burrow has emphasized the importance of balancing intense preparation with sufficient rest. Bengals coach Zac Taylor reinforced this approach by implementing rest days for Burrow during the offseason program. Burrow did not throw during the June 4 OTA practice, underscoring the team’s cautious strategy.

“That’s something we’re being more proactive about this year,” Burrow said. “We don’t have to be ready to go in the middle of June. We have to be ready to go early September through February. That’s how we’re attacking this offseason, rehab plan, practices, and training camp.“

Burrow reflected on his past approach to injuries, particularly citing the strained right calf injury from last training camp. He returned to play after five weeks, only to aggravate the injury in Week 2. This experience prompted Burrow to adopt a new mindset, prioritizing long-term health over short-term heroics. “Whenever you fight through adversity and come out on the other side, it definitely gives you a feeling of invincibility,“ Burrow said. “Obviously, you know that is not the case. So, it’s always a balancing act. That’s what this offseason has been about for me.”

Burrow’s leadership remains crucial as the Bengals prepare for the new season, especially with top receivers Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase in varying stages of contract negotiations. Higgins has yet to sign his franchise tag, while Chase, present at Tuesday’s minicamp, is seeking a contract extension. Despite these uncertainties, Burrow maintains a positive outlook.

Burrows said, “Our team is built for it, and people that I have surrounded myself with have been through it with me as well. I’m excited about the season. I’m excited about what we are going to do. I’m excited about what we have in the locker room.”

With his resilient attitude and proactive recovery strategy, Burrow is poised to lead the Bengals into what he hopes will be a successful 2024 season.

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor confirmed Thursday that star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase will not play against the Steelers in Week 16. Chase exited a game against the Vikings last weekend with a shoulder injury.

Instead of giving Chase more time to try and recover ahead of the game Sunday, Taylor made the early call, simply saying that he was not trending in the right direction. Taylor did not provide a firm timetable for Chase’s return but indicated that he could be ready in Week 17.

“We’ve got significant length before the next game from where are today,” Taylor said. “So we’ll just continue to go from there.”

In Chase’s absence, wide receiver Tee Higgins is expected to receive more looks from quarterback Jake Browning. The team will also presumably lean on their running game, led by Joe Mixon with Chase Brown coming in for support. Higgins told reporters Thursday that he was prepared to step up as the team hunts for a playoff berth.

“I still gotta go out there and be the receiver I am,” Higgins said.

The Bengals have had to deal with a number of key injuries this year, chiefly a season-ending setback for Joe Burrow. But while the team has been banged up all year, Cincinnati still has an 8-6 record and could make the postseason with a strong finish.

Browning has performed well in Burrow’s stead and led the team to wins over the Jaguars, Colts and Vikings. The next few games could be similarly challenging, however, as he will have to maintain this hot streak against the Steelers, Chiefs and Browns.

The two NFC North rivals always have the potential to cause problems while the Bengals’ recent history against the Chiefs (with Burrow under center) are well documented. The team is almost certain to benefit from Chase’s potential return by season’s end.

The Cincinnati Bengals are looking ahead to the future after drafting Ohio native and the 2019 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from LSU, Joe Burrow, with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. The event was held virtually Thursday night for the first time ever due to the coronavirus outbreak as team officials drafted remotely from their homes, and it was no surprise that Burrow’s name was the first to be announced.

Burrow had been connected with the Bengals since the draft order was released at the conclusion of the 2019 NFL season and his impressive performances at LSU which included a national championship win and an FBS best 60 touchdowns, heavily influenced Cincinnati’s decision. After the selection, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor claimed Burrow would be competing for the starting job next year despite his recent success.

“That’s exactly how I expect to do it as well,” Burrow said during a video chat session with local reporters. “I’m going to come in and compete and try to be the best player I can be.”

Team executives are hoping Burrow can help turn around a team that’s had a losing record for the last four seasons with no playoff appearances since 2015. “I mean for me, it doesn’t matter where you get picked,” Burrow said. “I could have been 189th pick, I could be No. 1. I’m going to work the exact same and try to be the best quarterback I can be for this city.”

Cincinnati’s starter since 2011, Andy Dalton, was benched last year for poor performance amid the worst season of his career. In 13 starts, Dalton had a career-worst quarterback rating of 78.3 and threw just 16 touchdowns to go along with 14 interceptions. Although he has been in trade talks as the organization hopes to move on from him, the plan hasn’t come to fruition yet. He is in the final year of a contract worth $17.7 million that currently puts Cincinnati over the salary cap.

Regardless of Dalton’s situation, Taylor knows Burrow has a lot to learn in order to make the transition from college football to the  NFL. “We selected him because we know he’s going to be able to handle all of that,” Taylor said. “It’s just a matter of accumulating those reps as quickly as he can.”

Because all rookie camps and OTA’s have been postponed due to the spread of COVID-19, Burrow said he will have to adapt to missing those snaps and work on learning Taylor’s playbook as well as how to call plays in the huddle.

“You have to be stern in your voice, because if you are in there wavering and wobbling and fumbling over words, all the guys are going to be like, ‘What is this guy doing in here, Coach? Get him out. Get someone else in,'” Burrow told ESPN. “So, that’s something I’m going to be really focused on.”

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The Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since 1990, which is the longest drought in the NFL, and Burrow looks to turn around a franchise that has never won a Super Bowl.

The Bengals finally got their first win of the season Sunday snapping their 11-game losing streak with a 22-6 win over the New York Jets. The victory finally gave Cincinnati something to be happy about after ending an 11-game losing streak that set a franchise record for consecutive losses.

Bengal’s quarterback Andy Dalton got his first start in three weeks after being benched for rookie Ryan Finley. Dalton’s single touchdown pass to wide receiver Tyler Boyd gave him the franchise record for touchdown passes with 198 moving ahead of Ken Anderson. Head Coach Zac Taylor was able to get his first NFL career win after replacing longtime coach Marvin Lewis in the offseason. “This one’s very satisfying, with everything I’ve gone through this year. To be the record-breaker today, being the first one after not playing the last three weeks, this one means a lot,” Dalton told the Orlando Sentinel.

Originally Finley had been brought in to replace Dalton after an 0-8 start to the season. As a first year head coach Taylor was looking for other ways to win and was hoping Finley could help fill that void, but he made a smart decision going back to the veteran after an 0-16 season became a real possibility. The Bengals haven’t made the playoffs since 2015 and played in front of the smallest recorded crowd ever at Paul Brown Stadium with just under 40,000 in attendance.

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The Jets had a forgetful day as they became the first team ever to lose to two teams in the same season that were 0-7 or worse. They had lost to the Miami Dolphins in November, and this match-up snapped their three-game winning streak. Sam Darnold threw the ball a career-high 48 times but never connected for a touchdown throughout the game.

The afternoon belonged to Cincinnati and putting Dalton back in seemed to give the team a reason to believe again and gave the fans their first good Sunday since last season. “He did a great job pumping everybody up. He won the game for us,” Boyd said. Dalton passed for 243 yards and one touchdown in the game.

“For him to come back and lead us and get this win, it says a lot about his character,” Taylor said.

The Cincinnati Bengals‘ first round pick Jonah Williams, an offensive tackle from Alabama, was injured during practice and will likely miss his first NFL season after getting shoulder surgery, it was announced this week.

The Bengals’ new head coach Zac Taylor, former Los Angeles Rams quarterback coach under Sean McVay, has found a rough first few weeks with his new tenure as multiple Bengals players are out with injuries.

“We look forward to Jonah being a major contributor in the future and know that he won’t let this injury deter him from still being an important part of this team,” Taylor said, according to ESPN. “We’re confident in our offensive line personnel as we head into training camp, and we believe they can do their part in helping this team achieve its goals.”

Williams was selected 11th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft and was a first-team All-American in the 2018 season with Alabama. He missed mandatory OTAs with the Bengals during the early June minicamp because of the injury, but now is confirmed to miss the season after obtaining a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Cordy Glenn, who started for the Bengals at left tackle last season, is set to be in the starting lineup again to replace Williams.

This is a big blow for the Bengals, as it will slow down his development as an NFL tackle significantly, while at the same time, it makes their offensive line weaker than it already was.

The Bengals signed free-agent guard John Jerry earlier this month after not playing under the New York Giants. Jerry could be set at guard for this season, but has also played tackle in the past.

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“That’s part of the equation,” Turner said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. “That’s part of the reason he’s here. He’s got a ton of experience. He’s played a lot of football. He’s also played tackle.”

Quarterback Andy Dalton might lack major protection up front this season, and may find it difficult to connect with his high-favored targets in AJ Green, Tyler Eifert and Tyler Boyd.

The biggest joke of the NFL offseason was that teams were willing to interview anyone who had talked to Sean McVay for a head coaching job.

Zac Taylor Becomes Cincinnati’s New Coach

The Los Angeles Rams coaching staff got picked apart by a handful of teams. Then, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips threw his son’s name into the mix on Twitter. But the joke wasn’t actually real until the Cincinnati Bengals interviewed Zac Taylor.

Taylor spent 2018 as the Rams’ quarterbacks coach. For whatever reason, his one season at the spot left the Bengals confident enough to hire him. Yes, the Rams are coming off a lackluster 13-3 performance in Super Bowl LIII but at this point, anyone can be an improvement compared to Marvin Lewis‘s mediocre 15-year run at the head coaching position.

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“I am happy and fortunate to join the Cincinnati Bengals as head coach,” Taylor said in a statement. “This is a great organization with good people and a rich history, and I am excited to get started. I am looking to add to that history by setting high standards, and holding everyone here accountable to those standards. There is a lot of work to do, and this is day one. We’re going to attack every day with enthusiasm to get this team ready to go.”

Taylor takes over a strange situation in Cincy. The Bengals defense was downright atrocious, ranking last in the league in yards allowed and No. 30 in points. On top of that, there’s uncertainty at the quarterback position. Andy Dalton has a contract that runs through 2020 but the team can move on at no cost right now. Taylor’s first task, though, will be to find a coordinator to turn around the defense. This is a tough job for anybody, especially for someone whose only experience at a coordinator role was on an interim basis in 2015. The AFC North looks to be one of the strongest divisions in football. The Bengals don’t look like a good team.