Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow is bringing back confidence along with health after suffering a 2023 season-ending wrist injury. The face of the franchise who’s already proven he can lead his team to the Super Bowl, Burrow believes he’s capable of becoming football’s top quarterback.
“I know I’m going to play well when I’m out there,” Burrow told Complex Sports via NFL.com’s Kevin Patra. “I’m at that point in my career where I’ve seen enough to know myself that I can go out there and play as well as anybody in the game.”
Burrow’s already viewed as an upper-level quarterback. As a sophomore in 2021, he led the NFL by completing 70.4 percent of his passes, throwing for over 4,600 yards and 34 touchdowns. He led the Bengals to three playoff wins and a Super Bowl berth before narrowly losing to the Los Angeles Rams. In 2022, he finished fourth in MVP voting and set a career-high with 35 touchdowns.
For Burrow, the only barrier in his way is himself—his health. Injuries have defined too much of his young career. He tore his ACL as a rookie, battled a hamstring injury that limited him early in 2023 and ended the year with a torn wrist ligament that required surgery. Jake Browning admirably finished the year. But he was no Burrow.
It’s a problem common around the AFC North. In Baltimore, Lamar Jackson stayed healthy after injuries doomed him and the team the previous two seasons. Deshaun Watson missed the second half of last season with a season-ending shoulder injury. Pittsburgh hasn’t had enough quarterback stability to focus on one name, though Kenny Pickett often played through injuries during his 1.5 years starting.
Cincinnati will count on Burrow even more this year. It’s a refreshed offense. Gone are veteran RB Joe Mixon and WR Tyler Boyd, two pillars of the offense who had been on the team since 2017 and 2016, respectively. They still return stars like WR Ja’Marr Chase and at least one more year out of WR Tee Higgins, though he seems near-certain to play elsewhere in 2025. If Burrow is healthy, the Bengals will push the Ravens for the AFC North crown. Pittsburgh will be in the mix, but it’ll be an intense battle until the finish.
