Joe Burrow injury update: Bengals opt not to activate star QB ahead of Week 12 game vs. Patriots

CINCINNATI -- After a few days of uncertainty, the Cincinnati Bengals will not activate quarterback Joe Burrow ahead of Sunday's matchup against the New England Patriots, according to CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones. Although Burrow practiced in full this week for the first time since suffering a Grade 3 turf toe injury back in September, coach Zac Taylor wasn't ready to commit to him as the starter. The Bengals still had a 4 p.m. deadline Saturday to move Burrow to the active roster.

Taylor said Friday that Burrow has done "everything he can" in practice this week, but Taylor noted that protecting Burrow from himself is always a concern. Mobility is a big part of Burrow's game and the QB still hasn't taken a hit since returning to practice, so there's plenty to worry about on the Bengals' end. 

"He looks great," Taylor said, via Paul Dehner of The Athletic. "You expect it to respond great when he's out there and gets tackled, but you don't know." 

With Burrow sidelined, Joe Flacco will once again get the start for Cincinnati. But Burrow -- who was listed as questionable on Friday's injury report -- could return soon with the Bengals playing on Thanksgiving in Week 13 against the Ravens. 

"Two games in five days, you have to account for that," Taylor said. 

Flacco will get his sixth straight start for Cincinnati. Flacco has put up some impressive numbers during his time with the Bengals, but the team is just 1-5 since he took over, but that's mostly due to a struggling defense. 

When the Bengals started their preparations for Week 12, it was assumed that Flacco would be the starter against the Patriots, but that changed after Burrow was listed as a full participant at practice on Wednesday. That same day, Taylor gave a noncommittal answer when asked whether Flacco would officially start, and at that point, "Burrow Watch" was officially on. 

Burrow took all the first team reps on Wednesday, but that wasn't a total surprise. Flacco has been dealing with a shoulder injury that he suffered in Week 8 and the Bengals have been giving him each Wednesday off since then. 

For Burrow, this was actually his second week of practice. He made a surprise return heading into Week 11, but he was a limited participant each day and Taylor made it very clear from the beginning that Burrow wasn't going to play last week, a game the Bengals would eventually lose to the Steelers, 34-12.

One thing Burrow wasn't able to do last week was participate in 11-on-11 drills, but he did that this week and Taylor came away impressed.

"I was pleased," Taylor told 700 WLW in Cincinnati. "I thought he looked good on the first day, taking 11-on-11 reps, and so that was a great starting point for him and hadn't done that for two months. So I was pleased with what I saw."

Before Wednesday, Burrow hadn't fully participated in a Bengals practice since Sept. 12, and then, just two days later, he suffered a Grade 3 turf toe injury in a 31-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Burrow was placed on injured reserve shortly after that and that's where he's been ever since. The Bengals activated his 21-day practice window on Nov. 10 and they now have until Dec. 1 to decide whether to move him to the active roster. Based on the fact that he's now fully practicing, it seems like it's only a matter of time before they activate him. Burrow has missed a total of eight games so far and the Bengals have gone 1-7 in his absence. 

Taylor seemed happy that Burrow was able to get some first-team reps this week while Flacco was out. 

"It's kind of a balance of Joe Flacco hasn't been practicing on Wednesdays, so it was a great opportunity to get Joe Burrow out there to take as many reps as possible," Taylor said. "So yeah, he took all the reps, but that was a balance with [Flacco], who has not been practicing on Wednesdays for the last few weeks, and so we'll just keep working through these next couple of days."

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Why sitting Burrow one more game makes sense 

The argument for keeping Burrow on ice this week is simple: If the Bengals activated Burrow for Sunday, that would mean that he'd have to play two games in five days -- the Bengals play the Ravens on Thanksgiving in Week 13 -- and it's highly unlikely that they would ask him to do that. As Taylor noted, that's one of the team's big concerns right now. 

Also, Ja'Marr Chase will be serving a one-game suspension this week, so Burrow would have been returning without his favorite receiver on the field. 

With Burrow now out Sunday, it seems like a lock at this point that he would then return on Thanksgiving. Burrow has only spoken with the media once since his injury and that came back on Nov. 10. During that interview, the Bengals QB gave a one-word answer when asked how meaningful it would be for him to return against the Ravens on Thanksgiving night. 

"Very," Burrow said. 

Burrow has been targeting a Thanksgiving return and now, that seems even more likely. If that doesn't happen it could also be pushed to Week 14. 

CBS Sports sideline reporter Melanie Collins talked to the Bengals last week and was given two possible dates. "I was told by the Bengals that Week 13 against the Ravens is a possibility, as is Week 14 against the Bills. But as of now, no definitive return date for Joe Burrow," Collins said during the Bengals' 34-12 loss to the Steelers on Sunday. 

Of course, even if he's healthy enough to play, the Bengals need to figure out if it even makes sense to put him back on the field. CBSSports.com NFL writer Tyler Sullivan doesn't think the Bengals should bring Burrow back under any circumstance this year due to the fact that their season is already lost (You can read his full reasoning here). The season would go from bad to worse if Burrow returned only to get injured again. 

Back on Nov. 10, Burrow was actually asked if the team's record would factor into his decision to possibly return and he mostly sidestepped the question. 

"We'll see how these next couple of weeks go," Burrow said. "We'll see how it feels. We'll make a decision when the time comes."

If Burrow wants to play, it's hard to imagine the Bengals stopping him, especially if he's fully cleared and 100% healthy. And now that he's once again a full participant at practice, it only seems like a matter of time before he's back on the field.