Bengals QB Joe Burrow shares key to successful 2024 season

When healthy, Bengals' Joe Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, throwing for 14,083 yards and 97 touchdowns across 52 games.

However, he has struggled to stay on the field through his first four years in the NFL. He knows that must change to have a successful 2024 season.

"Well, number one, I want to be on the field for all the games," Burrow said via Ben Felderstein of Complex Sports. "I know I'm going to play well when I'm out there. I'm at that point in my career where I've seen enough to know myself that I can go out there and play as well as anybody in the game. The biggest strides this year are going to be my body and learning how to get through the season, get through practices with my body, and feeling in tip-top shape. And so that's the main focus for the offseason."

The No. 1 overall pick in 2020 is coming off his second season-ending injury (wrist) after tearing his ACL and MCL during his rookie year.

If Burrow can stay healthy for the entire season, he will give Cincinnati another chance to win its franchise's first Super Bowl, and there's some urgency, too.

The 2024 season may be the last with wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Both players are eligible for big paydays, and the Bengals are unlikely to pay both after making Burrow the highest-paid player in NFL history last offseason.

Burrow's injuries must be behind him to fully take advantage of having both playmakers one last time. His most recent wrist injury required surgery.

The 27-year-old decided to learn a new skill this offseason to help with his recovery and overall strength.

"I'm learning the piano right now, hopefully I can get pretty good at that by next offseason," Burrow added. "I guess it'll be pretty tough during the season, but it's helped my rehab too for my wrist, so that's something I want to get good at. ... I've always wanted to learn how to play, but this was an opportune time to work on my hand and wrist dexterity while also learning that. So it was kind of the perfect storm."

The Bengals are hoping Burrow's piano lessons pay off. If they do, Burrow could become just the second player in NFL history (Chad Pennington) to be named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year twice.