Joe Burrow underwent an appendectomy on July 26. The Bengals' star quarterback was feeling the best he's felt going into a season physically.
After dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in his first offseason and a surgically repaired left knee his second offseason, Burrow was looking forward to having a normal start to the 2022 campaign.
Maybe next year.
"I’d like to have a normal offseason at some point. That would be great," Burrow said with a laugh. "Going into the season feeling as good as I can but that hasn’t been the reality for three years. Make the most of what you got. We’ll try again next year."
Burrow's appendix ruptured. He lost weight after the surgery. Now he's hoping to get back to 100% before the Bengals' regular season opener on Sept. 11.
"We got three weeks left to get my strength, my speed and my athleticism back to where it was before," Burrow said. "Gotta go back to the high school days when you're trying to gain 20 pounds in a couple of weeks span. So we're forcing it down as much as we can."
Burrow didn't say how much weight he lost, but did acknowledge he's doing everything he can to put it back on.
"Everything," he quickly responded when asked about the foods he's eating.
Burrow practiced on Sunday and Monday, but will take part in 11-on-11s for the first time on Wednesday afternoon.
He also expects to go up against the Rams in joint practices next week, but he doesn't plan on playing in the preseason.
Burrow looked accurate in his first two practices, but his throws didn't have the velocity he's used to having. It's something he's hoping to change between now and the start of the regular season.
"I completed the balls, I wouldn’t say I had as much juice as I would have liked," he said. "Hoping I go out there today and feel better than I did then.
The Bengals' star isn't feeling sorry for himself. He's focused one thing: winning.
"I’m working really hard all offseason, having a setback, having a comeback from it," Burrow said. "I’m really focused on this year and winning as many games as I can."
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