All Bengals

Zac Taylor Reveals Plan For Joe Burrow's Return After Bengals Fall to 3-8 This Season

The Bengals are 3-8 this season. Joe Burrow is still going to suit up and return to the field.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) takes the field before facing the Jacksonville Jaguars in their first home game of the season at Paycor Stadium Sunday, September 14, 2025.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) takes the field before facing the Jacksonville Jaguars in their first home game of the season at Paycor Stadium Sunday, September 14, 2025. | Cara Owsley/ The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In this story:


CINCINNATI — Bengals head coach Zac Taylor confirmed the team planned on bringing Joe Burrow back when he's healthy enough to play, regardless of their record.

Cincinnati is 3-8 on the season and 1-8 this year without Burrow. They lost to the Patriots 26-20 on Sunday—their fourth-straight loss.

Even though they're out of the playoff mix, Taylor made it clear that Burrow is going to play again this season.

"Winning is important. We want to win, and Joe gives us a great chance to win," Taylor said. "Again, (Joe) Flacco has given us every opportunity. We haven’t lost games because of Joe Flacco. He’s gone out there and given us everything, and he understands that. That being said, we’ll also be excited to watch Joe Burrow. I’ve watched Joe Burrow now for six years and seen the things he can do as well. Again, he’s worked really hard to get himself back. He’s a football player. He wants to play football. We want to win football games, so that will lead into that decision."

The Bengals have six games remaining, including two against Baltimore and one against Buffalo over the next three weeks.

If Cincinnati had won one or two more games with Flacco it would be easy to see the Bengals' path to the playoffs. Instead, Burrow will likely have to win out for Cincinnati to have any chance at making the postseason.

Burrow made it clear when he returned to practice that he hoped to play on Thanksgiving in Baltimore.

"Very," he said with a smirk when asked about how meaningful it would be to play against the Ravens.

The game is a few days away, but all signs point to him returning to take on Lamar Jackson in Baltimore on Thursday night.

Sign UP For Our DAILY Newsletter for MORE FREE Coverage of the Cincinnati Bengals Delivered to YOU Directly

 For more on the Bengals, subscribe to our YouTube Channel and be sure to check us out on your favorite audio platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio and Amazon

Make sure you bookmark BengalsTalk.com for the latest Bengals news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more! We're a one-stop shop for all things Cincinnati Bengals!

-----

Join the 61,000+ Bengals fans that subscribe to us on YouTube.

Follow us on Twitter/X: @BengalsTalkSI

Join the 114,000+ Bengals Fans That Have Liked Our Facebook Page

Subscribe and follow the Locked On Bengals Podcast: the ONLY Daily Bengals Podcast

Follow on TikTok


Published | Modified
James Rapien
JAMES RAPIEN

James Rapien is the publisher of Bengals OnSI. He's also the host of the Locked on Bengals podcast and Cincinnati Bengals Talk on YouTube. The Cincinnati native also wrote a book about the history of the Cincinnati Bengals called Enter The Jungle. Prior to joining Bengals On SI, Rapien worked at 700 WLW and ESPN 1530 in Cincinnati

Share on XFollow JamesRapien