“It’s been hard, long, stressful,” Burfict said of his extended rehab process. “But I’m here now thanks to God, almost healthy, and hopefully I can get out there and play on Sunday one of these days.”
Whether it’s Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers or another Sunday — or Thursday or Monday, given those are the days on which the following two games will be played — remains in question.
“If we feel like he’s ready to play, then he’ll be able to go right away,” defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said. “We just have to go through the rest of the week and find out. If he’s ready to go and up and active, then he’ll play.”
Burfict is still on the physically unable to perform list, which is where he has been since Sept. 5. The Bengals have 21 days to activate him to the 53-man roster and make a corresponding move, otherwise they will have to place him on season-ending injured reserve.
The latter scenario doesn’t appear to be a likely option given what the coaches saw from Burfict on Thursday.
“He looked real good,” Guenther said. “His movement skills were excellent, like he’s never missed any time. He obviously understands the defense. He’s just got to get back into football shape. He moved around real good. We’re real encouraged with what we saw.”
Burfict’s return drew a larger than usual media presence as cameras lined up outside the tunnel awaiting his arrival. Several players made jokes about the situation as they made their way to the field, then Burfict emerged carrying his pads and helmet and sprinted through the gauntlet, smiling and calling the media “weirdos” as he passed.
In the 30 minutes of practice open to the media, Burfict appeared to bring some extra energy. During stretching drills, Burfict and fellow linebacker Rey Maualuga went through a prolonged and choreographed handshake followed by a leaping body bump usually reserved for the aftermath of big plays. And Carlos Dunlap sprinted over from the other side of the stretching formation to welcome Burfict back.
“Tez brings energy,” quarterback Andy Dalton said. “I know with his injury he’s glad to be getting back out there. He’s been without football for a while. He’s a guy that’s really helped this team ever since he’s been here, so it’s good to have him back out there. You notice he’s back out there, which is a good thing.”
Burfict said he had fun being back on the field, and that he’s confident his knee is ready for game action.
“I would have never been out there practicing if I wasn’t confident,” he said. “The NFL is a physical game. I wouldn’t want to go out there with a bad knee and having to do something else different to it. I feel confident in it and I’m able to break and accelerate and break down.
“There were some hard days when I didn’t feel like doing rehab, but (coach Marvin Lewis) made sure he called me and made sure I got into the stadium. There were some hard days, but I’m here now and looking forward to playing a game.”
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