Joe Burrow makes surprise appearance at Bengals vs. Steelers: QB on track for mid-December return, per report

CINCINNATI — For the first time in over a month, Joe Burrow is in attendance to watch his team play. The Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback hasn’t been to a game since injuring his toe in Week 2, but he’s in the building at Paycor Stadium for the team’s huge Thursday night showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Burrow has been sidelined since Sept. 14 when he suffered a Grade 3 turf toe injury during the first half of a 31-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The superstar quarterback underwent surgery just five days later and he’s been rehabbing ever since. The Bengals had a home game in Week 5 that Burrow could have attended, but he decided to stay home, which might have been for the best, because Ja’Marr Chase didn’t want him there. 

“Hell no. He needs to get ready,” Ja’Marr Chase said when asked if Burrow should attend the Week 5 game against the Lions. “They don’t need to see Joe’s face. Just get healthy, come around later.” 

The Bengals hit the road in Week 6 for a game against the Packers and Burrow obviously didn’t go to that, but he was on the field during pregame on Thursday. 

Burrow was in a boot, but he was able to walk on his own, which is definitely an encouraging sign for the Bengals. 

So when will Burrow return? When Burrow underwent surgery on Sept. 19, he was staring at a timeline of roughly three months and that still seems to be the case. According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Burrow is targeting a mid-December return and he “absolutely intends” to comeback. 

“He is on track, has had no setbacks,” Rapoport said Thursday, “If this continues in that direction, he should be back on the field in mid-December and has told people close to him that he absolutely intends to be back, just needs the team to stay alive until then.”

That last sentence is the key part here; Burrow is likely only going to return if the Bengals are still in the playoff race and that might explain why he decided to attend the game on Thursday. At 2-4, the Bengals’ season is essentially on the line against the Steelers. If they win, they’ll be 3-4 and right back in the thick of the AFC North, but if they lose, they’ll drop to 2-5, and at that point, it’s hard to envision a scenario where they’d still be in playoff contention come December. 

If he returns in mid-December, that means he’d likely be back on the field in either Week 15 (vs. Ravens) or Week 16 (at Dolphins). For the Bengals to stay in playoff contention, they’d likely need to go 5-2 or 5-3 before getting to mid-December, so Joe Flacco will need to keep the team afloat if the Bengals are hoping to get their other Joe back.