After more than a month away from football activities due to a calf injury, Joe Burrow made his return to the practice field for the Bengals on Wednesday. Ja’Marr Chase, Burrow’s top target dating back to their college days at LSU, has been taking a very cautious stance with the quarterback’s health, but he is encouraged by how his teammate looked at practice.
“He looked good,” Chase said, per ProFootballTalk. “I didn’t see hobbling. I didn’t see much. He doesn’t look like he’s having any problems.
“When Joe’s out there, it’s a little more dialed in. He’s stayed positive about the whole situation. It’s all about the health and how he feels. That’s the most important thing this year. We want to get him back, make sure he’s healthy, 100% healthy.”
Sam Greene/The Enquirer/USA TODAY Network
Chase consistently has called for Burrow to do whatever he needs to in order to get back to 100% health. Earlier this month, Chase went so far as to call for Burrow to skip the team’s Week 1 game against the Browns.
“I told him that, with all honesty, I don’t want him there,” Chase told NFL Network on Aug. 4. “I sat out an extra game [in 2022] just to let my hip heal up. You don’t want to cause no other problems later on in the season.”
With Burrow’s return to practice this week, it doesn’t appear that the injury will eat into his regular season. Although nothing is official, it appears as if he’s on track to start for Cincinnati in Week 1.
The Bengals travel to face the intrastate and division-rival Browns on Sept. 10 to begin the campaign.
