Joe Burrow and his absence from the preseason is shrouded with mystery and anticipation. There is news about his well going in the training camp, but we haven’t seen him in action so far. The Cincinnati Bengals are 0-2 in the preseason and they desperately need Burrow. However, history has shown that the Bengals QB doesn’t take part in preseason affairs.

“To my eye, he looked great,” the Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said of Burrow looking healthy in the joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts, set to be played in the Paycor Stadium on Thursday, 25 August, 8 PM EDT. Burrow played in the preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last time. Will he play against the Colts tonight?

Is Joe Burrow playing against the Indianapolis Colts?

This is just speculation, but Joe Burrow doesn’t have an extensive history of playing in the preseason games. In 2021, Burrow played just one game and went 0/1. So that was not a real participation. He skipped the preseason completely in 2022 and 2023. Now, after healing from his injury, he might have wanted to try his wrist out in the game, so he played against Tampa.

Judging by his past, there aren’t any huge chances that we’ll see Burrow in action, but who knows? Burrow completed 5 of his 7 passes against the Buccaneers and even threw a 10-yard touchdown to Tee Higgins. However, in the next preseason game, Chicago Bears completely embarrassed the Cincinnati team with a landslide win of 27-3. Burrow didn’t play in that game.

There were good signs from Burrow at the Kettering Health Practice Fields and he’s gelling well with the veteran TE Mike Gesicki, who said that Burrow was “locked in.” However, Burrow has just recovered, and even 11 on 11 training might be too much. Joint practices get spirited, and Burrow might attract another injury. Even if he wanted to play, the Bengals would possibly sideline him and save him for the regular season.

So, how did Burrow do in practice?

All arrows are pointing up for the Bengals QB

“He looked the part,” Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic wrote in his column as Burrow drilled 21 of his 26 passes in the 11-on-11. He had all the pieces with him besides Ja’Marr Chase, who is holding out for a new contract. The Bengals will not be the same without him, however, Burrow is trying to do his best with Tee Higgins and Mike Gisecki and it showed as the QB went 5-6 on touchdowns.

On Tuesday, Gisecki had caught 6 passes from Burrow and commented, “It’s cool to see him go against another team, too. You see that competitive edge a little bit. It’s fun to get out there and make a couple of plays for him.” But not every day is great, and Burrow had some major downs.

A report from Joel A. Erickson of Indy Star painted a completely different picture of Burrow. The column had a strong start suggesting Burrow didn’t put the ball in the end zone, not even in 4 chances. He was throwing short passes and the Colts CB Jaylon Jones picked him off not once, but twice. Burrow went 14-18 on August 20.

The reports from yesterday, as pointed out before, say that Burrow is shaping up nicely and has the attention and the command of his team. Will that translate into the regular season? It’s hard to tell because Burrow might not play in the final preseason game against the Colts.