'Excellent' Joe Burrow 'Pushing To Play' No Matter What Happens Rest of Bengals' Season

CINCINNATI — Don't tell Joe Burrow not to play this season.

The Bengals' starting quarterback reportedly had a great week of practice in his return to the field over the past few days, and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport also noted that the Bengals could lose their next two games and Burrow would still "push" to play against Baltimore or Buffalo.

"Franchise quarterback Joe Burrow returned to practice, having his 21-day practice window opened," Rapoport wrote this morning. "With eyes on a return for either Cincinnati's Thanksgiving night game against the Baltimore Ravens or more likely the Bengals' Dec. 7 game against the Buffalo Bills.

"Based on the way Burrow has explained it to those who know him well, he plans to return to the field regardless of the team's record, which is 3-6 entering Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Could the organization step in and stop it if the Bengals continue to lose? Perhaps. But Burrow is pushing to play. And to no one's surprise, he was excellent this week in practice."

The Bengals aren't throwing in the towel despite sporting one of the worst defenses in the history of the NFL. Football players play football, and if Burrow is healthy, he will obviously want to play for a team that's paying him a lot of money to be the quarterback.

There isn't much hope for a Wild Card berth into the playoffs, but the AFC North door has some light in its crack. Cincinnati can push that open even more by moving to 3-0 in the division today and one game back of Pittsburgh with the tiebreaker in hand.

"Burrow had the players excited, especially since not everyone knew he was going to return this week," Rapoport noted about the team morale. "He has been around the team, taking part in meetings, but rehab often happens away from teammates. So when he walked onto the practice field, there was a buzz.

"That should continue, as Burrow's rehab hits the on-field stage. Whenever he returns to game action, the likelihood is he'll do so with a metal plate in his shoe and without full mobility, sources say. Burrow and the team will likely have to adjust their standard playbook, but that would be worth it to have Burrow back."

We'll see if that "buzz" can turn into something real in the win column over the next few weeks.

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