Joe Burrow questionable to make return from toe injury against the Patriots
CINCINNATI AP Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow well ahead of schedule in his comeback from a turf toe injury that required surgery is questionable for Sunday s tournament against the New England Patriots I think Joe has done everything he can to put himself in a position to get back coach Zac Taylor reported We are just going to keep taking our time on this one No decision has been made He was limited in current times in practice I feel calm waiting as long as we can to make this decision Burrow would need to be activated off injured reserve before making his return If Burrow doesn t go then Joe Flacco will make another start for the Bengals - who have dropped seven of eight While Flacco is healthy enough to start he continues to manage a shoulder injury that has impacted him over the last month and was limited in practice this week Even though Burrow only has three full days of practice under his belt he s still a candidate to start on Sunday and make his first appearance since he was injured in a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept I got to make that decision Taylor commented We will take the time we ve got Assess all the practice we ve got this week He s done everything he can to put himself and be ready to go Now I have to make a decision on what we do Burrow returned to practice in a limited maximum last week and then he began doing -on- drills in practice this week As Burrow has been working to return as soon as manageable Taylor explained that he has a role in protecting Burrow from himself I view it as very fundamental Taylor commented I have to take into account what I think is best for him He s coming back off an injury He s been out for a long time I know he s of the right mindset and has done everything physically and then I have to take into account what s the best thing for him what s the best thing for our company and make the soundest decision Taylor reported that if Burrow started there wouldn t be various guardrails Burrow has historically struggled in Week and this would be another scenario where he s coming back to play following a long break Taylor explained that he views Burrow s mid-season return as a much different experience than a Week challenge and he ll be at ease letting Burrow play how he necessities to play to win whenever Burrow is back in the lineup The whole point is you re putting him in there when you feel like he s fully ready to go and can handle the full challenge load Taylor commented Because you never know what situation is gonna come up in a meeting or put you in a situation where your quarterback s got to be able to operate So I think that all factors into the decision Another factor in the decision-making process is that the Bengals face the Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving night next week It s two games in five days Taylor declared It s part of the equation
