Bengals QB Joe Burrow confident he's put in work to 'make sure I'm healthy'

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has seen the worst of the injured reserve in his NFL career.

A knee injury ended his rookie season and placed him on a long road back to the field. Three years later, a calf strain suffered in training camp reduced him to a statue in the pocket for the first month of the 2023 season, and just as he broke free from the granite, a wrist injury ended his campaign.

Sometimes in life, the worst experiences end up providing us with the best lessons. Burrow has certainly learned, and is adjusting accordingly entering the 2024 season.

"I'm confident I've put all the work in I need to make sure I'm healthy," Burrow recently told the team's official site. "I'm continuing year-to-year to better hone that and make that more efficient. Maybe listen to my body a little more throughout the offseason and not push through things that maybe I have in the past. I'm just starting to learn my body more and more."

It's good for Burrow to get to know his body, considering it's his -- and Cincinnati's -- most important asset. As the Bengals learned in 2023, they'll only go as far as Burrow is capable of taking them, and he can't do that if he can't carry himself onto the field.

As he aims to return to the field in 2024, he'll find some new faces. Running back Joe Mixon is off to Houston, and Burrow's offensive coordinator, Brian Callahan, is now the head coach in Tennessee.

But the changes should be relatively minimal. Cincinnati promoted Burrow's quarterbacks coach, Dan Pitcher, to replace Callahan, and elevated Pitcher's lieutenant, Brad Kragthorpe, to fill his vacant position.

So, some folks will be missing, and a handful of replacements -- the Bengals signed running back Zack Moss this spring -- will fill