CINCINNATI — Group chats throughout Cincinnati certainly popped off with anxious messages after fans noticed Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was not present at the team's OTA on Tuesday.
Then, when head coach Zac Taylor said he would speak with media after practice about Burrow's absence, the city collectively held its breath — only to let it out in relief when Taylor said Burrow was simply off for the day.
"We've given Joe a day off every week," said Taylor to members of the media after practice. "I didn't time this up great, I kinda thought you guys were here yesterday. So he threw yesterday, and so today's his day off."
Until now, Burrow has been in attendance at every other practice open to media members.
Neither Taylor nor other Bengals officials gave any prior notice that Burrow was not planning to participate with the team Tuesday, and the press conference with Taylor was not originally on the schedule.
Head Coach Zac Taylor will address the media after practice. Was not previously scheduled. @WCPO
— Marshall Kramsky (@marshallkramsky) June 4, 2024
Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury during a Thursday Night Football game against the Baltimore Ravens on Nov. 16, 2023. Before that, the quarterback has been injured multiple times — including tearing his ACL and MCL in 2020, which ended his first season with the Bengals early and suffering from appendicitis in 2022.
Recently, the quarterback was seen confidently throwing a football during the Bengals practice at the start of May, telling media he "feels great."
Burrow did note that he wasn't yet cleared for contact at that time, and his healing process was still ongoing.
"The wrist maybe is going to hurt sometimes," Burrow said of his recovery, noting that while there will be good days and bad days, he was "encouraged." He said he had been throwing the ball for about a month.
You can watch Zac Taylor's full press conference in the player below:
