The million dollar question — or should we say $275 million question — is whether Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will play on Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams. The NFL’s highest-paid player aggravated a preseason calf injury in the Week 2 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
The initial injury caused him to miss a month of training camp and he appeared in pain and limping at the end of the Bengals’ home loss on Sunday.
Cincinnati is 0-2 to start the season and Burrow has been far from the Super Bowl-caliber player we have seen in years past.
The Bengals are not giving too much away on whether he will play and while Burrow will likely want to be out there to help the team win, they will have to decide if his calf is ready for prime time.
Burrow has not tipped his hand either way and has left the door open, saying (per The Athletic) “Feeling better. Not as sore. Time heals. So we’ll see.”
The 26-year-old did not practice on Thursday and was a limited participant on Friday.
If you are going to his teammates for insight on whether he will take the field, you will not get a sure answer from them either.
When speaking to the median following Friday’s practice session, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase mentioned that Burrow “didn’t really throw too many balls today.”
Chase had a hard stance on the situation and does not believe his quarterback should play unless he is fully healthy.
“I told him back then, don’t play until you’re 100 percent ready to play, so I don’t know what he’s doing,” he said, adding that he doubts that Burrow was 100 percent.
When asked if he thinks Burrow will play, Chase said: “If I had to guess I’m saying no. I’m saying no because I’ve told him no. My answer never changed from this.”
If Burrow does not play, Chase said the winless Bengals would be facing “100 percent adversity. It’s stuff we never dealt with and it’s not preseason so it actually counts, so it’s definitely adversity.”
Wide receiver Tyler Boyd, on the other hand, says his prediction is that Burrow will play.
“I know he’s taking it day by day. He looked good to me, he always looks good to me whether he’s hurting or not,” Boyd said. “But I don’t want him to go out there if he’s not 100 percent. But at the end of the day we gotta go with who we can play with, if it’s not him then I’m sure Jake can lead us to the promise land.”
Through two games, Burrow has 304 yards with two touchdowns, one interception and a completion percentage 56.9.
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Author: Shanna McCarriston
September 22, 2023 | 6:45 pm
