Joe Burrow is ready for a normal offseason. His first preseason in the NFL was 2020, during which there was the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, he was recovering from a torn ACL and MCL. In 2022, it’s been getting back from an appendectomy.
For the first time since the procedure, Burrow spoke with the media and discussed his return from having his appendix removed, and confirmed that his appendix did rupture.
“It wasn’t the normal appendicitis as you hear about it. I didn’t really feel much. Just getting checked out and had some discomfort and so we thought we’d get it checked out. Turns out, I had it, so we had to get it fixed,” Burrow said. “Not ideal timing obviously, but glad it happened now and not halfway through the year.”
Burrow had his appendix removed on July 27, and while he appeared at some practices, it was not exactly in his usual capacity, as he was driving around in golf carts and not actively participating in the drills. He returned to practice on Sunday in 7-on-7s and was throwing again as he begins to ramp back up to speed.
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Burrow said he lost a lot of weight after the appendectomy, and admitted that he isn’t back to where he was before the incident. He said he has three weeks to get his strength, speed and athleticism back up.
“Got to go back to the high school days when you’re trying to gain 20 pounds in a couple week span, where we’re forcing down as much as we can,” Burrow said. What is he eating? “Everything.”
Getting back onto the field has helped in the recovery process, Burrow said. He explained that during the procedure, he lost core muscle and some strength. Given the injury to his core, Burrow said he worked back slowly into throwing, and that if he worked back up too fast, he would have to compensate for the pain he felt with the torque in his core.
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He said while he’s able to complete some throws in practice, he’s been unable to put as much power behind each throw that he would like. However, he’s confident the strength will be coming back.
“The more I’ve done each day, the better I felt the next day, and that’s kind of how it’s always gone for me,” Burrow said. “So the more activity I can, the more lifting, more practicing, the better off I’ll feel.”
As the recovery process continues, Burrow said he will be continuing to ramp up his participation in training camps. Burrow said he will be returning to 11-on-11s on Wednesday and expects to be fully back next week, but he said he will likely not be playing in any preseason contests.
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“Obviously I would have liked to [play in the preseason]. This whole thing’s kind of thrown a wrench in that so I don’t anticipate I’ll be playing in a preseason game,” Burrow said.
At this point, there should be no concern the third-year quarterback will be ready for his team’s season-opening matchup against the Steelers.
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