Bengals Designating Joe Burrow to Return 2 Months After Toe Surgery Confuses Fans – “Season’s Over, Don’t Risk Him”

Joe Burrow was pegged to have ended his season as his toe surgery required 3 months intensive recovery.

Bengals Designating Joe Burrow to Return 2 Months After Toe Surgery Confuses Fans – “Season’s Over, Don’t Risk Him”

Joe Burrow (Image via Imago)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Joe Burrow came into the 2025 NFL season knowing the Cincinnati Bengals were touted as playoff hopefuls. That changed when the star QB injured his toe, requiring surgery.

The Bengals’ atrocious defense has pegged the team back on multiple occasions. But when Burrow went down, many fans threw in their hats, as they felt that was the end of the season.

Incoming Joe Flacco did a good job of lighting up opponents. However, everyone knew that had their $275 million superstar quarterback been on the field, the results could have been different.

The LSU star was pegged to take 3 months to return, as that is the optimal recovery timeframe for such a surgery. However, some have defeated those timelines and come back early.

Insider Ari Meirov revealed earlier that the Cincinnati Bengals had designated Joe Burrow to return from Injured Reserve. That means he has 21 days to be reinstated to the 53-man roster.

If his recovery goes as planned, that means fans could see the superstar signal caller return in December. Soon, the franchise posted videos of their QB jogging back onto their practice field and getting acclimatized to throwing some footballs.

Fans hope Bengals rethink Joe Burrow’s return

Football fans would love to see Joe Burrow return and light up opposing defenses. However, they wondered why the Bengals would allow him to play this season at all.

Joe Burrow suffered a Grade 3 turf toe injury back in September
Joe Burrow suffered a Grade 3 turf toe injury back in September (Image via Polymarket Football/X)

They are currently 3-6, which pegs them at 11th in the AFC. It is not as if the teams behind them can realistically catch up. But even then, fans wondered why the franchise would risk pushing its star QB to return.

Even if they try, there is a slim chance of them making the playoffs. Fans hope the Bengals rethink the situation and keep him healthy for next season. Check out examples of those reactions below:

If Joe Burrow returns within this 21-day timeframe, he will be facing either the Buffalo Bills or the Baltimore Ravens. Considering how bad their defense has been, fans believe it is pointless to risk his health.

Joe Burrow believes Bengals have chance to make playoffs

Fans believe the Cincinnati Bengals have no chance of making the playoffs, especially with the quality of their defensive performances. However, the franchise and its star signal caller believe they can make it happen.

Our division is wide-open… We play Pittsburgh this week. Everything is in front of us. It’s very rare our division looks like this, but it does this year. We’ll be at least in it until the end.

Joe Burrow said

The 28-year-old then pointed out that it will be difficult for the Bengals to try to make it as a wild card team. The only option, as per Joe Burrow, is to win the division.

They are a game behind the Baltimore Ravens and two behind the Pittsburgh Steelers. That is why the organization is fancying its chances of trying to win its division.

Also Read: