The Bengals and Joe Burrow entered this season with high expectations, their sights set on winning the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, their star quarterback got injured earlier in the year during the team’s Week 2 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Burrow was diagnosed with a Grade 3 turf toe injury that required surgery, which also came with a minimum recovery time of three months.
During this period without Burrow, the team initially relied on Jake Browning before trading for Joe Flacco from the Cleveland Browns. In four games played, Browning threw for 757 yards, six touchdowns, and eight interceptions, ranking him dead last in PFSN’s Quarterback Impact rankings. Joe Flacco has recorded 1,254 yards, 11 touchdowns, and two interceptions, ranking him 26th in those rankings. Their record through nine games is 3-6. Burrow’s practice window has officially been opened, but one Super Bowl Champion is limiting fans’ expectations.
Ryan Clark on Joe Burrow Returning to Practice
Bengals fans have all the reasons to be excited about their quarterback returning to practice. However, Super Bowl Champion Ryan Clark is telling fans not to get their hopes up. Earlier today, he said the following:
“Unless Joe Burrow can play free safety, it don’t matter if he comes back or not.”
“Unless Joe Burrow can play free safety, it don’t matter if he comes back or not.”
Despite the Bengals’ circumstances, Ryan Clark and Mina Kimes applaud Joe Burrow wanting to play for his teammates đź’Ş pic.twitter.com/CVqd9UWYl1
— ESPN (@espn) November 10, 2025
Burrow returning this season would certainly be exciting, and the competitor in him surely wants to. But with the Bengals’ current record? Is it really worth it? The team is 3-6, and while making the playoffs isn’t impossible, it’s undoubtedly not probable. For the sake of the threat of re-injury, it’s definitely the smarter option for Burrow to sit out the rest of the year.
Clark also says he should only return if he can play free safety, highlighting the Bengals’ poor defense this year.
In PFSN’s Defensive Impact rankings, the Bengals rank dead last in the league. They rank near last, if not near last, in almost every defensive category. Compared to other offenses, their offense ranks 17th in PFSN’s Offensive Impact rankings.
Their defense has played them out of many games this season, and if the team were closer to 4-5 or 5-4, it would definitely give Burrow a better reason to come back.
If the defense had been at least league-average, their record might look different. Instead, it’s probably for the best that Burrow takes the extra time to recover and be fully healthy for next year.