Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said he understands why some are concerned that he’s returning from a toe injury to a 3-8 Cincinnati team with virtually no chance at making the playoffs.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Thursday’s game road against the Ravens, Burrow — who had surgery to repair a Grade 3 turf-toe injury in his left foot after Week 2 — explained that sitting out isn’t ever an option if he’s healthy.
“As soon as it happened, I was pushing to do everything we could to get back on the field,” Burrow said Tuesday. “I’m a football player. I get paid a lot of money to go and play a game with my friends. We work really hard. It’s intense and there are jobs on the line.
A very frank and genuine response from Joe Burrow if he understood the concern of some fans that he should not risk injury in a likely lost season at 3-8. “I’m a football player and I get paid a lot of money to go play a game with my friends. We work really hard. It’s intense and… pic.twitter.com/O3KiB5J2RD
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) November 25, 2025
“But at the end of the day, it’s a game. I’ve worked hard to put myself in this position and get as healthy as I can be to go out and play with these guys, and that’s something I want to do.”
Burrow explained that he refuses to live his life in fear of getting injured on the football field.
“I understand why people feel that way, but if you look at it from my perspective, I’m a football player, and if I get hurt, I’m going to go through the rehab process and then I’m going to let everyone know when I feel like I can go out there and play,” he said. “I dont really know what else to say about that.
“I’m not going to ever go to somebody and say, ‘Yeah, I’m healthy but I don’t think I should go out there and play.’ That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.
“I’m not going to live my life and play this game scared of something happening … It’s football. Guys are going to get hurt … It’s a physical, intense game. That’s part of this.
“Yeah, I’ve had injuries. There’s not a lot I can do about that. I’ve worked really hard to have that not happen. But what I can do is, when it does happen, I can control how I attack my rehab and attack practice and do everything in my power to get back as quickly as possible. And that’s what I did.”
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Burrow added that he’s excited to play the Ravens, the Bengals’ AFC North rival, on a national stage on Thanksgiving.
Cincinnati trails Baltimore and the Steelers by three games in the division.
The Bengals would have to win their final six games to have a chance at making the postseason.
Cincinnati and Baltimore (6-5) face off at M&T Bank Stadium at 8:20 p.m. ET on Thanksgiving Day.
