The team released wide receiver Greg Little to make room for Burfict on the 53-man roster.
Burfict has not played in a game since Oct. 26, 2014, when he injured his left knee against Baltimore at Paul Brown Stadium. The original thought was that Burfict would need to have the knee scoped and would only miss a couple of games. But the knee never responded and Burfict underwent microfracture surgery in January, a process where doctors drill holes in the bone to try to stimulate cartilage growth.
After practicing for the first time Thursday, Burfict said the recovery process took longer than expected but that he got plenty of support from the organization.
“My teammates kept pushing me,” he said. “They knew when I was out of it. One day when I didn’t feel like doing rehab and they’ll just push me to do it. I’ve been pushed by teammates, coaches, Mr. (Mike) Brown and I thank them for it.
“It’s been hard, long, stressful,” he added. “But I’m here.”
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