Joe Burrow’s season has been placed on hold since a turf toe injury he suffered in the Cincinnati Bengals’ Week 2 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Burrow diagnosed him with a Grade 3 turf toe injury that required surgery, which Dr. Norman Waldrop performed. Despite a name like “Turf toe” not sounding that bad, a Grade 3 diagnosis means that Burrow had a complete tear of all soft tissues in his big toe.
The surgery occurred eight weeks ago, and fans have noticed him on television broadcasts as he watches his team from the sidelines. Even more importantly, he is walking without a boot. His progression has sparked speculation about when he might return to the field.
When Will Joe Burrow Return?
As the Bengals prepare for the crux of the season, all eyes are on Burrow and what his recovery timeline could mean for a potential playoff push. While there is still no exact date for his return, the update from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Oct. 16 suggests a possible mid-December comeback.
Rapoport said, “He is on track, doing well, and has had no setbacks. It means that if this continues in this direction, he should be back on the field mid-December, and he has told people close to him that he absolutely intends to be back, he just needs the team to stay alive until then.”
As it currently stands, the Bengals are third in the AFC North with a 3-6 record. They’re one game ahead of the 2-6 Cleveland Browns, and behind the 5-3 Pittsburgh Steelers and the 3-5 Baltimore Ravens.
Using PFSN’s Playoff Predictor tool to simulate the rest of the season, the simulation predicts the Bengals to end the season with a 7-10 record, ultimately missing the playoffs. If the Bengals can’t perform the next couple of weeks, I wouldn’t doubt it if the team shuts Burrow down for the season.
Despite the track for a mid-December return, Zac Taylor has been on record saying that he doesn’t have many updates right now. Taylor recently said, “He’s been good. I don’t have any updates. It’s gone as we had hoped. He’s had a great attitude, great energy about him. He’s in the meetings, met with him one-on-one, he’s been great to be around, optimistic and things have been going well, but I don’t have any update on the timeline.”
Ultimately, Burrow will be out for at least the next month. Even then, if the Bengals’ playoff hopes appear bleak, it wouldn’t be surprising if we don’t see him until the 2026 season.