Just eight months after tearing his ACL, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has been fully cleared to participate in training camp.
When players report to camp on Tuesday, Burrow will be a full participant in practice and 11-on-11 drills.
But Bengals owner Mike Brown said Burrow likely won’t play in the preseason.
“We probably aren’t going to put him out there until we get to the season because we don’t want to risk anything with him,” Brown said. “His effort rehabbing was A-plus.”
Brown compared Burrow’s intensity to former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, a likely future Hall of Famer. When discussing Burrow, Brown also mentioned Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.
“He has won over everybody on this team, me included,” Brown said “He does it with his intensity. He focuses on learning his responsibilities, carrying them out in a way that other players see and want to emulate. He has real effort there.”
During OTAs and minicamp in May and early June, the Bengals coaching staff protected Burrow as he rehabbed from a torn ACL.
At that time, Burrow didn’t line up under center so he didn’t cross feet with an offensive lineman. He didn’t practice handoffs with running backs, and he didn’t throw any deep passes in his first practice. But when training camp starts, Burrow won‘t have any of those limitations.
