The Cincinnati Bengals are 0-2 and quarterback Joe Burrow, currently the NFL’s highest-paid player after signing a five-year, $275 million contract extension on Sept. 9, is struggling after an aggravated calf injury in the preseason to look like himself. Whether he will play on Monday night in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams remains to be seen.
“I feel better. Not so sore. Time heals. So we’ll see,” Burrow told reporters on Thursday about his calf injury. per The Athletic. When asked if he could play, he replied: “We’ll see.”
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor also couldn’t provide a specific update on Burrow’s status heading into Week 3 for the Super Bowl rematch.
“Yeah, it’s hard for me to say right now,” Taylor said Monday. “He probably really did it on one of the last three plays. So just sore. We haven’t done anything on the field yet.”
Burrow, still considered day-to-day, missed Thursday’s practice. Taylor said it would be “ideal” if his quarterback practiced before Monday night’s contest. per NFL Media.
In Cincy’s 27-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, Burrow could be seen limping late, but he never missed a snap. He was seen limping one play before throwing a four-yard touchdown pass to receiver Tee Higgins with 3:28 to play. The Bengals didn’t get the ball back for the rest of the game. Taylor made it clear that if his offense had been given one final drive, he would have sent Burrow back onto the field.
Ahead of the Week 2 loss to the Ravens, Taylor said he was feeling “really good” about Burrow’s health before it deteriorated again.
“I thought he had a great week of practice last week,” Taylor said. “Only he can say how he really feels, but you could feel it was really good.”
The 26-year-old quarterback tore his calf for the first time in training camp at the end of July and missed most of training camp and the entire preseason. The injury is clearly impacting Burrow’s play so far in 2023. Without the ability to use as much of his lower body as possible into these throws, Burrow won’t be able to hit his patented deep ball. He is 0 for 12 on throws of 15 or more air yards this season. He is 0 for 8 against receiver Tee Higgins, 0 for 3 against Chase and 0 for 1 against tight end Irv Smith Jr. This is unprecedented for Burrow, as he only had one game in his first game without gaining 15 or more air yards complete 42 career starts. Now he has done this in consecutive games. Over the last two seasons, Burrow led the NFL with 27 passing touchdowns for 15 or more air yards.
Joe Burrow passes throws of more than 15 yards (last three seasons)
Comp Pct | 51% (2nd) | 0% (0-12, last in NFL) |
TD-INT | 27-9* (1.) | 0-1 (T-last in the NFL) |
| Passerby rating | 117.1 (1.) | 4.9 (30.) |
*Most passing touchdowns on throws of 15 yards or more in 2021-22
As for whether the Bengals might consider giving Burrow a break to fully regain his health, Taylor said the team hasn’t quite gotten over that bridge yet.
“I think we need to hear what the doctors say before we start assuming anything,” Taylor said. “Once we have that information, we’ll figure out what we need to do.”
The Bengals’ next two options on the roster should Burrow miss time would be Jake Browning and Will Grier.