New England Patriots - NESN.com
Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor certainly isn’t shutting down the idea Joe Burrow could play this week.
Burrow was a full participant in practice Wednesday ahead of Cincinnati’s Week 12 matchup against the New England Patriots. It marked the first time Burrow was a full participant since he suffered a turf toe injury in mid-September, which resulted in surgery.
“I’m not there yet,” Taylor said Thursday when he appeared on 700WLW, a radio station in Cincinnati. “One day of practice isn’t going to lead to that decision yet. So, we’ll use the time we have at our disposal and come with the best decision we can.”
Taylor confirmed the ultra-competitive quarterback will be knocking on the coach’s door in hopes of suiting up for the Bengals, who sit third in the AFC North and need to put together a second-half run in order to make the postseason.
“Oh, yeah. Yeah,” Taylor said. “Then that’s my job to balance all the information and protect the player and make the best decision possible.”
It was speculated Burrow could return in Week 13 with the Bengals scheduled to travel to the division rival Ravens on Thanksgiving. It’s the more meaningful of the two contests, for sure, but given the spot Cincinnati is in, every win is important.
“I wish I had that decision today, honestly,” Taylor said. “I’m going to take in all the information I can and make sure it’s the best one for Joe and our team and we’ll go from there.”
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky and others can’t help but feel Burrow will take the field at Paycor Stadium on Sunday.
