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Ben Baby, ESPN Staff Writer
CINCINNATI — If one didn’t know any better, Tuesday looked like a normal offseason workout for the Cincinnati Bengals and quarterback Joe Burrow.
He weaved through tackling dummies, rolled to the side and threw off one leg, and he launched a couple of balls to receivers in the end zone. But it was more significant than it might seem, as it marked Burrow’s first outdoor team practice since he suffered a season-ending wrist injury in November.
In his first news conference this offseason, Burrow detailed the recovery process from surgery and the challenges presented.
“This was a difficult injury,” Burrow said. “It’s been a tough several months, but physically it’s not the worst injury that I’ve had. I’ve been through much tougher things physically and so that’s been a positive. I’ve been able to really lift and continue my offseason program kind of the way that it always has been.”
As a rookie in 2020, Burrow tore multiple ligaments in his left knee, including the ACL, that also required surgery. While he didn’t miss any games the following year, the season in which the Bengals went to the Super Bowl for the first time in more than three decades, he said it took about a year to feel normal.
On Tuesday, he said he imagines the wrist injury will have a similar timetable.
“Fortunately, that coincides with the beginning of training camp start of the season,” Burrow said. “We’ll see where it’s at when the time comes. You never know, but right now we’re in a good spot.”
Burrow said that at the beginning of the recovery process, he was “flying blind.” Unlike other injuries, such as the strained calf he sustained at the start of 2023 training camp in which he consulted with New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, he didn’t come across players at his position who suffered a similar wrist injury.
“The guys that I have talked to have been offensive lineman, defensive lineman, linebackers that didn’t have to have that wrist mobility and the little intricacies of the wrist movement like I do,” Burrow said.
The quarterback added that the Bengals’ training staff has done a good job of making sure that Burrow regains motion in the wrist and said the rehab has been “lights out.”
The team’s franchise quarterback spent time Tuesday working with the tight ends, including recent signee Mike Gesicki. Other wide receivers such as Trenton Irwin also worked with the quarterbacks, with top targets Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins absent during voluntary workouts.
Burrow said he has been throwing since around the beginning of April. Irwin noted that the velocity on Burrow’s throws hasn’t diminished despite the wrist surgery.
“It’s there,” Irwin said. “It feels great.”
Burrow, who signed a five-year contract extension worth $275 million last offseason, believes he is cleared for everything but full contact, which could be coming as soon as next month. He declined to say if the wrist was hurting when he threw. However, he is happy with the progress at this stage of the recovery and feels comfortable with any risks of playing with it moving forward.
“I think most of those points are behind us,” Burrow said. “We’re kind of at the end of the six to seven months that this is going to take, and so at this point, it’s just about getting ready to play football and it’ll continue to get better.”
