Joe Burrow went through an entire week of practice for the Cincinnati Bengals this week. The organization declined to activate him from the injured reserve before the 4 pm window closed. All indications at practice were that he looked great after his return from surgery on a Grade 3 turf toe injury two months ago. Joe Flacco (shoulder) has rested throughout the week and will resume starting duties on Sunday.

Burrow returned to practice in rapid time, as the injury was supposed to keep him out until at least mid-December. He’ll have to wait another week. Prior to practicing, the team had already circled the Week 13 Thanksgiving Day game against Baltimore as his likely return. It’s feasible that the team might want to hold him out against a rough New England front that is currently third in the NFL in sacks. Additionally, should the QB be sore after his initial return, the short turnaround to Thursday would mean a regression if he were unable to play.

For his part, Flacco has a 96.3 rating while passing for 1,453 yards with 12 touchdowns and three picks in just five games. He’ll lead the squad (minus Ja’Marr Chase) against MVP candidate Drake Maye and the 9-2 New England Patriots.

Fantasy lowdown: Not much change to the personnel, except for Chase (suspended). Fantasy managers can expect an extra bump to Tee Higgins, a full game of usage for Andre (Yoshi) Iosivas, and likely some additional looks to tight end Mike Gesicki returning from injury. Flacco can only be counted on as a mid-range QB2 at best on Sunday.

Author: Samwise (BuyAndSellYou)