It is no secret: the Cincinnati Bengals have had some serious bad luck when it comes to injuries to their star players over the past few years. Last season, elite wide receiver Tee Higgins and defensive end Trey Hendrickson were just two significant games on the list that missed major time due to injuries. After all, this is a team that failed to make the playoffs last season after comfortably walking into the AFC Championship Game for two years in a row.
On top of all of those injuries, the obviously massive impact was the season ending injury of elite quarterback Joe Burrow after a freak wrist injury against the Baltimore Ravens in week 11 of last season. Cincinnati is simply not the same team without its fearless leader and it is a major commentary that Burrow is a leader on this team just for how hard he battles through injury recover. Last season was just one huge example of how great of a teammate Burrow actually is.
It looks like this team is on the path to course correction this offseason as Burrow was seen heading out to practice for the first time since his shoulder injury. It should be noted that the superstar LSU product didn’t put in a bad practice either for being his first time officially throwing a football since last fall. The Bengals social media account shared coverage of their star quarterbacks practice on Monday morning.
HE IS SO BACK. pic.twitter.com/ZsZjzkZEmg
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) May 6, 2024
After last season where virtually every single team in the division put up elite talent, it will be a massive boost to this franchise to start their field general. Backup quarterback Jake Browning played downright sensationally last season but the reality is that he simply doesn’t have the charisma that Burrow brings to the table.
It’s also safe to say based on the social media response that the fans are over the moon to see their talented signal caller return to the field even just for a practice.
— Cincinnati (@CincyProblems) May 6, 2024
Ladies & gentleman, this is a statement video. Joe Burrow going hard in the bubble. #Bengals pic.twitter.com/pZHgQp8wyE
— Nati Sports (@Nati_Sports) May 6, 2024
While he has demonstrated that he is a true superstar in this league, Burrow will now need to prove that he can overcome the injury bug in the long term. While he clearly has the focus and work ethic to recover from an injury, this team needs it’s star quarterback healthy in order to compete against the powerhouse AFC North Division. Without Burrow, the Baltimore Ravens have dominantly carried the AFC North during both of the star quarterbacks injury-plagued seasons.
I think we can all agree that it will be nice to see Cincinnati reclaim their stake as the Kings of the North in 2024. They will have a considerably weaker schedule after finishing fourth in the incredibly competitive division.
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