With hair newly cut and dyed, Bengals QB Joe Burrow says his wrist feels good as training camp opens
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CINCINNATI — Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow showed up for the first day of training camp Wednesday with a new close-cropped, blond haircut and, more important to Cincinnati, a right wrist he said is ready for the rigors of the season.
Burrow took part in drills, threw accurately and looked good doing it, showing no outward signs that his surgically repaired wrist will be an issue. He said he will get some days off along the way so as not to overdo it.
“I was happy with today,” he said. “You know, still feeling it out. Still have some throws where it’s like, ‘Well, what did that look like?’ Usually goes where I want it to, but sometimes it doesn’t spin the way I want it to. So we’re still working through that. But I feel really good about where I’m at.
“I’m really happy with the plan that I had coming into camp this year, happy with how my body feels, happy with how my mind feels. So we’re in a good spot.”
Burrow was sidelined last season when he tore a ligament in the wrist in a loss to Baltimore on Nov. 16. He had surgery Nov. 27 and has been rehabbing since.
Coach Zac Taylor said he is not worried about having to give the quarterback much individual attention.
“He’s going in his fifth year in this league. He knows exactly what to expect to get himself through a season and what he needs to do,” Taylor said. “And there’s not a lot of conversation that needs to happen at him. He knows how his body feels and how he does best.”
The 27-year-old Burrow is hoping to start the season mostly healthy for a change. He has been injured to start each of the past three. Twice, the injuries occurred in training camp. In 2022, he suffered a ruptured appendix. Last year, a strained calf on the second day of camp forced him to miss five weeks.
Owner Mike Brown has his fingers crossed.
“He’s the heart of the team,” Brown said. “He’s got to stay healthy for us to get there. I think that’s a given.”
Regarding the quarterback’s much-discussed new hairstyle, Burrow said there was no real reason behind the radical change.
“I got bored,” he said. “That’s about it.”