Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow aggravated the calf injury on Sunday that cost him all of training camp and the preseason.
Burrow’s injury happened late in Sunday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens. While the quarterback did say he’d be able to return to the game if the situation called for it, the Bengals have provided an update on his status. It’s not necessarily good news for next week against the Los Angeles Rams.
Head coach Zac Taylor told reporters on Monday that’s it’s too hard to tell at this early point in the week whether Burrow would be available for next Monday night’s outing against the Rams.
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Cincinnati is now 0-2 on the season after losses to the division rival Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. Only 11% of teams that start with that record since 1990 go on to make the playoffs. One of those teams was last year’s iteration of the Bengals, who won 12 of 14 after starting 0-2.
Joe Burrow stats (2023): 57% completion, 304 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 70.5 QB rating
It’s clear that Burrow’s calf injury has impacted him through two games. Back in Week 1 against the Browns, the NFL’s highest-paid player put up just 82 passing yards on 31 attempts in a 24-3 loss to Cleveland. While he played batter this past Sunday against Baltimore, the quarterback is not anywhere near 100%.
If Burrow has to sit out next week’s game against Los Angeles, former Washington Huskies star Jake Browning would get the start.
Since 2002, a total of 99 teams have started a season 0-3. Only one has gone on to make the playoffs (2018 Houston Texans). Needless to say, next week’s matchup with the Rams is a must win for Cincinnati.
We will have further updates on Joe Burrow’s status as the week goes on.