Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow will miss several weeks with a right calf strain, coach Zac Taylor said Friday.
The timeline was revealed one day after Burrow went down during a training camp drill and had to be carted off the practice field.
During a live drill, Burrow used a pump fake, tucked the ball and started to run before coming up limping. He was already wearing a sleeve on the calf because he experienced soreness in that part of his leg after the first day of training camp.
While Burrow is out, Trevor Siemian and Jake Browning will split the first-team reps as they vie for Cincinnati’s No. 2 quarterback job.
In 2021, Burrow entered camp still recovering from a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee — not the same leg as his current injury — that cut short his rookie year in 2020.
Burrow also missed the 2022 preseason after undergoing an appendectomy, and with some rust apparently not knocked off, he threw four interceptions in the season opener in a home loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Joe got more days this July than he’s ever had in the NFL,” Taylor said. “So, I feel really good about that and the progress we’ve made during those July practices with Joe, and when he’s able to get back we’ll be able to get the work that we need.”
Burrow, who guided the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance in his second NFL season in 2021, is also the next quarterback in line for a massive payday. The Los Angeles Chargers this week made Justin Herbert the new highest-paid player in the NFL at $52.5 million per year (five-year extension worth $262.5 million), following extensions earlier this offseason for Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson ($260M) and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts ($255).
–Field Level Media