There is a lot of talk (maybe too much talk) about when Cincinnati Bengals‘ quarterback Joe Burrow will return to the lineup. You may have heard he’s been out with a toe injury since going down Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It’s true, you can look it up.
Yesterday, we got word that Burrow was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice. This was interesting news since about a week ago it was a big deal that he could return this week against the New England Patriots…even though no one really thought that was a reality.
Armed with this information, ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky went on NFL Live and declared that if Burrow is out there practicing, he’ll start this week against
“He’s going to start,” Orlovsky said. “There’s no way that he’s practicing fully [Wednesday] if he’s not going to start on Sunday.”
“They’re in desperate times,” Orlovsky said of the Bengals. “They have to basically win out to get in, and even need some help. If Joe wants to play, and he feels like he’s going to be able to play, and the medical staff says he’s capable, he’s gonna go play, I would fully expect him to be the starter.”
That’s fine, but is it worth it? To quote the great Ricky Watters: “For who? For what?”
Cincinnati Bengals head coach not ready to name Joe Burrow the starter
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor is obviously going to be cautious with Burrow. Even if he knows for sure that Burrow is going to suit up against New England, there certainly isn’t any benefit in saying so.
On 700 WLW on Thursday morning, Taylor was non-committal about Burrow’s return – as one would expect.
“I’m not there yet. One day at practice isn’t going to lead to that decision yet,” Taylor said.
He continued, “we don’t know yet” when asked about his status for this week.
Should the Cincinnati Bengals bring back Joe Burrow?
The Bengals are 3-7 and terrible. So, the question becomes whether or not it’s even worth it to bring Burrow back. ESPN’s Adam Schefter wondered the same thing this week.
“Joe Burrow is an athlete and he’s gonna want to play,” Schefter said. “But if they’re not in the playoff hunt, should they really be bringing him back this season?”
Even if they are in the playoff hunt (which they aren’t and won’t be), should they bother? Burrow is one of about four players on the team who is good at football and he plays the most important position. The Bengals’ defense is so atrocious that Burrow might not even matter.
Keep in mind that before Sunday’s 12-point performance, they had scored 42, 38 and 33 points in their previous three games. They lost all but one of those (the one where they put up 33).
Sit down if you haven’t heard this yet: The Bengals’ defense is giving up an average of 33.4 points per game. Read that again. Don’t believe me? Go through game by game and see for yourself.
What is Burrow going to do for this team? Is he going to score 50 points per game? He could morph into [insert your favorite big-name historical quarterback that has an impact when you say his name] and it wouldn’t matter.
The decision on when to bring Burrow back will impact fantasy football teams way more than it will the Bengals.
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