Joe Burrow is familiar with recovering from an injury during the offseason.
The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback returned to practice last month after a torn wrist ligament ended his season in November. Unaccustomed to normal offseasons, Burrow rehabbed from a torn ACL in 2021, had surgery on his appendix in August 2022, and injured his calf last summer.
Per the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway, Burrow discussed the mental toll of dealing with numerous health setbacks during his career.
“Whenever the injuries start to stack up, your football mortality kind of comes into the back of your mind,” Burrow said. “So, that’s definitely something I’ve thought about and something I have had to fight through.”
In four years, Burrow suffered two season-ending injuries in Week 11. When able to finish a season, he took Cincinnati to the Super Bowl in 2021 and made the AFC Championship Game in 2022.
One of the game’s star passers when healthy, Burrow has posted a 98.6 quarterback rating and 68.0 completion percentage in 52 regular-season games. The former Heisman Trophy winner will look to reclaim his spot among the league’s elite signal-callers.
Courtesy of WLWT’s Olivia Ray, Burrow said he feels “really good” about his recovery progress. While it’d be nice to be all clear for training camp, he’s more concerned about starting and finishing the season on the field.
“You don’t have to be ready to go in June. You got to be ready to go early September through February,” Burrow said. “So, that’s how we’re attacking this offseason and this rehab and these practices. We’re attacking it like, I want to be out there in February.”
Related: Joe Burrow Takes Big Step In His Recovery From Wrist Injury