Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow doesn’t just plan on entering 2024 healthier. He plans on being bigger, too. In a press conference with reporters Tuesday afternoon, Burrow says he’s added muscle in addition to rehabbing the wrist injury that wiped out the final two months of his 2023 season.
“We’re bigger, definitely bigger,” Burrow said via the local outlet WCPO News 9. “We’ll see where I’m at at the end of the offseason. I feel good about where my body is at right now. I’m gonna continue to get stronger and bigger for throughout the offseason and just kind of play it by ear depending on how I feel. Like I said, I’m in a good spot right now. I’m really strong, bigger than I was. We’re gonna continue to eat right, lift and go through my routine and see where I’m at.”
Burrow didn’t comment on where his weight currently sits. At the NFL Scouting Combine ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft, he tipped the scales at 221 pounds. The Bengals website currently lists him at 215 pounds.
He attributed the gains to a better diet.
“Eating more, more dialed as far as nutrition and food schedule and eating when I need to. So that’s been a big area of emphasis for me,” Burrow said.
More important than his weight is his health. And Burrow declared himself good to go in that regard, medically cleared to do everything except contact drills, something he won’t face until the preseason anyway. In Week 11 last season, Burrow tore a ligament in his wrist against the Baltimore Ravens. Placed on IR and out for the rest of the season, the Bengals turned to Jake Browning, who performed well in relief. But Cincinnati still fell short of the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
They’ll look to rebound as Super Bowl contenders this season with an offense that has undergone changes. RB Joe Mixon, WR Tyler Boyd (now with the Tennessee Titans), and OT Jonah Williams are all playing elsewhere. But the team retained WR Tee Higgins with the franchise tag while Ja’Marr Chase remains as a top-three wideout. With Burrow in the fold, the Bengals’ offense will be potent so long as they avoid the pitfalls of last year, playing Burrow when he clearly wasn’t healthy and suffering because of it. Like the rest of the AFC North, the Bengals’ top goal is keeping their quarterback healthy.
