Joe Burrow shrugs off pleas to sit, playing hurt for a team heading nowhere.
PublishedNovember 25, 2025 8:48 PM EST•UpdatedNovember 25, 2025 8:49 PM EST
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The Cincinnati Bengals are 3-8, practically dead in the water, and staring at another playoff-less season.
Most franchise quarterbacks in Joe Burrow’s cleats would stay on the sideline in recovery. But not this guy.
READ: Joe Burrow Returns To Starting Lineup With Intentions To Rally The Bengals
Roughly two months after undergoing surgery for a brutal turf-toe tear that wiped out his last nine games, Burrow is back Thanksgiving night in Baltimore.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The gritty Burrow is running straight at the challenge of keeping the Bengals’ fading odds of reaching the postseason alive, even though the team has given him little reason to rush back.
On Tuesday, Burrow coldly shut down the possibility of sitting out the rest of a dead season … because he’s a baller who’s not ducking anything.
“I am a football player. … I’m not gonna ever go to someone and say, ‘Yeah, I’m healthy, but I don’t think I should play.’ I am not going to live my life and play this game scared that something may happen,” Burrow said. Basically, if the toe hurts, it hurts.
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Of course, the fear of a long-term problem stems from his turf toe injury.
Brock Purdy has been limping around with his own turf-toe issue since Week 1 for the Niners, also re-aggravating it trying to be a hero weeks later, and as evidence on Monday night, he isn’t playing like a franchise guy.
So, is Cincy doing itself a disservice by not protecting Burrow from himself?
Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals. (Photo by Kara Durrette/Getty Images)
The same guy who tore his wrist in 2023, pushed back early in 2024, tore his toe in Week 2, and now shrugs off the idea of caution.
In a league full of business decisions, Burrow isn’t playing scared.
Props to the vet for carrying the load and keeping Zac Taylor safe from the fallout.
Thursday night in Baltimore, we find out what gives first … Burrow’s toe or his will.
Send us your thoughts: [email protected] / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
