Keeping Joe Burrow On Injured List Is The Best Way For Bengals To Survive This Season?

After Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow had a calf injury during training camp, his top wideout and LSU BFF, Ja’Marr Chase, announced early in the preseason that Burrow should sit out until Week 5 if he wasn’t 100%.

Keeping Joe Burrow On the Injured List Is The Best Way For Bengals To Survive This Season?

“I told him that with all honesty I don’t want him there,” Chase said on NFL Network on Aug. 4. “Same thing with me last year. I sat out an extra game just to let my hip all the way heal up, and you don’t want to cause no other problems later on in the season, and I told him as long as you’re there after Week 5 and on, we’re good brother.”

The Bengals have just played two games, yet their entire 2023 season is already unraveling. The Bengals are not only winless entering into Week 3, but there is also a lot of question regarding the health of their top quarterback, Joe Burrow.

In Cincinnati, a 0-2 start is normally nothing to be concerned about. After all, the Bengals started 0-2 last season before winning the AFC title game, but this year seems different.

This year’s 0-2 start is made worse by the Bengals’ loss of two divisional games, as well as Burrow’s injury.

When asked if the calf ailment will trouble him the rest of the season after the game, Burrow confessed he was unclear.

“It’s tough to tell, tough to look into the future and see that,” Burrow said when asked if he anticipates dealing with the injury all year. “I’m doing everything I can to get healthy and get that thing the way I need it to so I can go out and perform the way I need to to win. We’ll see.”

If Cincy decides to rest Burrow, which is improbable considering the team’s 0-2 start, what are the team’s viable options? The Bengals have two roster options: Jake Browning (who threw his sole career NFL pass incomplete in the Bengals’ 24-3 Week 1 loss to the Cleveland Browns) and practice squad quarterback Will Grier.

Burrow totaled 268.5 passing yards per game during the Bengals’ 0-2 start last season. This year, that number has dropped to 152 yards per game, despite the fact that Burrow is under a lot less pressure. He was dismissed 13 times in the first two weeks of 2022. He’s only been sacked three times in two games this season.

Burrow’s calf appears to be keeping him from doing his. The offensive line is doing its thing. If Burrow continues to play and the offense continues to struggle, his calf will deteriorate for no apparent reason.

Burrow’s mobility is an underappreciated aspect of the Bengals offense that hasn’t been fully used this season.

The second alternative is to place Burrow on injured reserve. This may sound drastic, but it could end up being the only way to save their season.

The calf injury robbed him the majority of the preseason, which he could have spent reconnecting with his receivers. And, as Burrow pointed out, this has an influence on how he begins the year.

“When your quarterback misses camp, it’s tough to start fast,” Burrow said after the loss. “It’s not an ideal situation.”

 

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