Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow understands why some have questioned why his organization would permit its franchise QB to return from injury for a 3-8 team that likely would have to run the table to make the playoffs.
But Burrow, who will return to the field Thursday night against the Ravens for the first time since he suffered a toe injury in Week 2, told reporters on Tuesday that he will always play if he is healthy enough to do so.
“I understand why people feel that way," Burrow said. "But you look at it from my perspective. I’m a football player, and if I get hurt, I’m going to go through the rehab process and I’m going to let everybody know when I feel like I can go out there and play. I don’t know really what else to say about that.
"I’m not going to ever go to somebody and say, ‘yeah, I’m healthy, but I don’t think I should play.’ That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I’m not going to live my life and play this game scared of something happening. … Yeah, I've had injuries. It’s not a lot I can do about that. I worked really hard to have that not happen, but what I can do is when it does happen I can control how I’m attacking my rehab.”
Burrow suffered a toe injury that required surgery in the Bengals' Week 2 win over the Jaguars. The initial timeline for a return was projected to be three months, the Bengals star will beat that by a few weeks, and he spoke openly on Tuesday about how meaningful playing on Thanksgiving against a rival was to him.
"It’s a division rivalry," Burrow said. "It’s intense out there, something I wanted to be out there for.
"Playing on Thanksgiving, something I’ve always wanted to do that I’ve pushed for in the past, and the NFL gave it to us (this season). Then the injury happened, and (I) thought I wasn’t going to be able to play, and as we got closer felt like it was a real possibility. So that’s exciting to me. It’s a national stage to go out there and prove yourself again after not playing for several weeks."
Burrow said he remembered growing up and watching Lions star wide receiver Calvin Johnson play on Thanksgiving each year in Detroit.
“Those are memories that you have, so I kind of always wanted to be the person out there," Burrow said, adding "you’re playing on a Thursday night in front of the world, that’s an exciting opportunity.”
The first of two games in three weeks against the Ravens is also an opportunity for the Bengals to mount an improbable run to the playoffs.
The Bengals currently trail the Ravens and Steelers by three games in the division, but six straight wins to close the season would bring Cincy to 9-8 and potentially back in the postseason.
“We pretty much have to win every game at this point," Burrow acknowledged on Tuesday. "The only way you're going to do that is by attacking each week like you have to be 1-0 that week and move on to the next.”
Cincinnati kicks off in Baltimore on Thanksgiving at 8:20 p.m. ET.