Joe Burrow was back on the field Monday, throwing passes with his usual zip and reminding everyone in Bengals country why he’s their star quarterback. It was the first day of Phase Two in the Bengals’ offseason program, and the first time Burrow got to toss the ball with his receivers on site since he injured his throwing wrist. His passes were on target and fast—so fast that tight end Mike Gesicki joked it might hurt to catch them.
“That might hurt your hands,” Gesicki said.
Burrow’s receivers and his position coach were quick to praise his performance. Despite his injury, the NFL’s all-time completion percentage leader showed no signs of rust.
“He didn’t miss a beat,” said wide receiver Kwamie Lassiter. “Whatever he did in the offseason worked.”
Andrei Iosivas, another receiver, was impressed with Burrow’s arm strength. “You like the amount of power he has on it. I feel like that’s what you’re really looking for. You like to see the velocity,” he said.
Trenton Irwin, a wide receiver who’s caught plenty of passes from Burrow, was glad to see him looking like his old self. “He looked like he did last year. He looked smooth. I didn’t see anything different,” he said.
New quarterbacks coach Brad Kragthorpe put Burrow through the usual workout drills, and Burrow looked as agile as ever as he navigated through footwork drills around bags, medicine balls, and even Kragthorpe himself.
“I think he looked as quick and as athletic as I’ve seen him look,” Kragthorpe said. “He looked like the Joe Burrow we’re used to seeing. I didn’t see any difference. I thought the ball came out of his hand well. Confidently. I’m happy where he’s at.”
Burrow also threw some deep passes during the practice session, with Iosivas catching a few long ones.
“He was pushing it on the deeper throws down the field,” Iosivas said. “He was slinging it and really putting some heat on those passes.”
The Bengals are set to continue practicing on Tuesday, and the week wraps up with a rookie minicamp on Friday morning.
