CINCINNATI (AP) — Joe Burrow returned to practice with the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday, opening the 21-day window for the franchise quarterback to return to the lineup.
His practice time will not count against the 53-player active roster. Burrow is eligible to be activated during the three-week window.
However, coach Zac Taylor said Burrow would not return for Sunday's game at Pittsburgh. The Bengals (3-6) have lost six of seven since Burrow suffered a toe injury in mid-September that required surgery.
“I think he's at a good point. He's worked hard to get to this point to get back on the field in a limited form,” Taylor said before Monday's practice.
Burrow will work with some of the receivers but won't participate in 11-on-11 drills until possibly next week.
Initial estimates had the sixth-year quarterback missing up to three months, but he could possibly be under center on Nov. 23 when the Bengals host New England or four days later, when Cincinnati plays at Baltimore on Thanksgiving night.
“We have 21 days to figure that out,” Burrow said after practice. “Could be early, could be late in that window. We are still pretty early post-surgery for this injury, so we have a couple weeks of practice to figure that out and see how it goes.”
Burrow underwent surgery on his left toe on Sept. 19, five days after he suffered the injury during the second-quarter of Cincinnati's 31-27 victory over Jacksonville.
It was Burrow’s third major injury in his six seasons since being the top overall pick in the 2020 draft.
“I’ve been juggling the injury mindset where you kind of take a deep breath, then get back to it, then juggling that with the idea I could potentially still play this year and we could still be in it and all of those things,” he said. “Now that we are getting closer and closer, it’s more of a season mindset.”
The offense struggled in the first three games after Burrow's injury with Jake Browning at the helm. But things have been better since the Bengals acquired Joe Flacco from the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 9.
Flacco is averaging a league-high 313.5 passing yards over his four starts for the Bengals.
The defense has been primarily to blame for Cincinnati's last two losses. The Bengals blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead in a 39-38 loss to the New York Jets on Oct. 26 and then allowed Chicago's Caleb Williams to connect with Colston Loveland for a 58-yard touchdown with 17 seconds left in a 47-42 loss to the Bears on Nov. 2.
Cincinnati became the first team since the 1966 New York Giants to score at least 38 points in consecutive games and lose both.
Coming off their bye week, the Bengals remain just two games behind AFC North leader Pittsburgh and have won both of their division games. The Steelers have dropped three of four, including 33-31 at Cincinnati on Oct. 16.
Taylor also said defensive end Trey Hendrickson is doubtful to return this week. The All-Pro pass rusher has missed two of the last three games with a hip injury.
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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9), right, greets Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) after an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic as an ongoing crackdown on demonstrators has led to hundreds of deaths.
Trump said late Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports mount of increasing deaths and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night.
Iran did not acknowledge Trump’s comments immediately. It has previously warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has accurately reported on past unrest in Iran, gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran cross checking information. It said at least 544 people have been killed so far, including 496 protesters and 48 people from the security forces. It said more than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
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China says it opposes the use of force in international relations and expressed hope the Iranian government and people are “able to overcome the current difficulties and maintain national stability.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that Beijing “always opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs, maintains that the sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law, and opposes the use or threat of use of force in international relations.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned “in the strongest terms the violence that the leadership in Iran is directing against its own people.”
He said it was a sign of weakness rather than strength, adding that “this violence must end.”
Merz said during a visit to India that the demonstrators deserve “the greatest respect” for the courage with which “they are resisting the disproportional, brutal violence of Iranian security forces.”
He said: “I call on the Iranian leadership to protect its population rather than threatening it.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday suggested that a channel remained open with the United States.
Esmail Baghaei made the comment during a news conference in Tehran.
“It is open and whenever needed, through that channel, the necessary messages are exchanged,” he said.
However, Baghaei said such talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”
The semiofficial Fars news agency in Iran, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on Monday began calling out Iranian celebrities and leaders on social media who have expressed support for the protests over the past two weeks, especially before the internet was shut down.
The threat comes as writers and other cultural leaders were targeted even before protests. The news agency highlighted specific celebrities who posted in solidarity with the protesters and scolded them for not condemning vandalism and destruction to public property or the deaths of security forces killed during clashes. The news agency accused those celebrities and leaders of inciting riots by expressing their support.
Canada said it “stands with the brave people of Iran” in a statement on social media that strongly condemned the killing of protesters during widespread protests that have rocked the country over the past two weeks.
“The Iranian regime must halt its horrific repression and intimidation and respect the human rights of its citizens,” Canada’s government said on Monday.
Iran’s foreign minister claimed Monday that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Iran’s foreign minister alleged Monday that nationwide protests in his nation “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim, which comes after over 500 have been reported killed by activists -- the vast majority coming from demonstrators.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Iran has summoned the British ambassador over protesters twice taking down the Iranian flag at their embassy in London.
Iranian state television also said Monday that it complained about “certain terrorist organization that, under the guise of media, spread lies and promote violence and terrorism.” The United Kingdom is home to offices of the BBC’s Persian service and Iran International, both which long have been targeted by Iran.
A huge crowd of demonstrators, some waving the flag of Iran, gathered Sunday afternoon along Veteran Avenue in LA’s Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian government. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by early evening only about a hundred protesters were still in the area, ABC7 reported.
Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.
Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with the the demonstrators, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver. A police statement said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt.
The driver, a man who was not identified, was detained “pending further investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday evening.
Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
