After suffering a calf injury during training camp that forced him to miss virtually the entire preseason, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has looked sluggish in the Bengals first two games. After the team’s Week 2 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Burrow said he re-aggravated his calf strain during the game, casting doubt over his status for Week 3 when the Bengals host the Los Angeles Rams.
Burrow mentioned that his calf was "pretty sore" in his postgame comments from last week. However, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor has noticed the franchise signal-caller make significant strides in recent days and seems to be cautiously optimistic about Burrow’s chances of suiting up.
"It’s been an encouraging early part of the week," said Taylor. Taylor added "He’s [Burrow] been a little sore early in the week, but we’ll see how it goes. Fortunately we get an extra day here."
Taylor is alluding to the fact that the Bengals and Rams will play on ESPN’s Monday Night Football, giving Burrow an additional day to rest and prepare for a potential Week 3 matchup against All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
Burrow and the Bengals offense have not looked like the high-powered offense we’ve become accustomed to seeing from them in the past couple of seasons so far through the first two weeks of the 2023 campaign. In Week 1, Burrow had arguably the worst game of his NFL career when he completed just 45 percent of his passes for 82 scoreless yards.
Rookie quarterback Jake Browning would be called upon to start in Week 3 against the Rams if Burrow is unable to suit up for the Bengals.
