8:30pm: NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports Burrow will, to no surprise, take part in a workout Monday morning to determine his pain level and help determine his availability for the game. All sides remain intent on pushing a final decision all the way until game time with plenty at stake for the Bengals as they look to avoid an 0-3 start.
4:03pm: During Fox Sports’ pregame coverage, Jay Glazer noted that Burrow’s “serious” calf issue limited him to scout team work yesterday. He was, however, able to serve with the first-team offense in a walkthrough earlier today. The extra recovery time granted by the Bengals’ matchup with the Rams coming on a Monday will no doubt play a huge role in Burrow’s ultimate availability, and all eyes will be on his health come tomorrow.
9:58am: Ranking 20th in QBR after two concerning performances, Joe Burrow is questionable for the Bengals’ Super Bowl LVI rematch against the Rams on Monday night. Cincinnati’s star quarterback has logged two limited practices ahead of that suddenly pivotal matchup, but the calf injury he suffered during training camp has clearly left him at less than 100%.
Some among the Bengals want Burrow to hold off on playing at less than 100%, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, but others in the building are concerned about the prospect of dropping to 0-3 and thus would prefer the recently extended standout in the lineup regardless (subscription required).
[RELATED: Bengals Give Burrow Record-Setting Extension]
Burrow is among those taking Cincy’s 0-2 record into account, per the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway. Since the NFL expanded its playoffs to six teams per conference in 1990, only four teams — the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Lions, 1998 Bills and 2018 Texans — have qualified for the postseason after starting 0-3. With the league now at seven teams per conference, that number should be expected to grow. But history certainly points to 0-3 being a barrier the Bengals would have a difficult time negotiating.
The consensus among Burrow’s teammates may not be especially bullish, with ProFootballNetwork.com’s Jay Morrison noting Bengals players expect the fourth-year passer to be inactive for Monday’s game. That said, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes Burrow has improved this week, increasing his practice snaps from “just a couple” Friday to more on Saturday. While Burrow has missed the past three preseasons — due to ACL rehab, appendicitis and this calf injury, respectively — he has not missed a regular-season game due to injury since the November 2020 ACL tear cut his rookie year short.
This is expected to go down to the wire Monday, per Russini. The Bengals have Jake Browning in place as their Burrow emergency signal-caller. A 2019 Vikings UDFA, Browning has been with the Bengals since September 2021. He has yet to play in a regular-season game and spent the past two seasons as the third-stringer behind Burrow and Brandon Allen. The 49ers signed Allen in May.
Two quarterbacks — Reid Sinnett and ex-Andy Dalton backup A.J. McCarron — now reside on the Bengals’ practice squad. Sinnett joined the 16-man unit Friday, while McCarron returned Saturday. McCarron, 33, played in the XFL this past season; he has not seen NFL game action since 2020. A summer 2021 ACL tear ended McCarron’s 2021 Falcons season early. McCarron played out his rookie contract with the Bengals from 2014-17.
I’m a bit curious about the new rules. There are no plans to put Burrow on the IR, but it’s likely he wouldn’t play either. Practice squad players are not eligible to be emergency QBs, but the Bengals have a situation where they could elevate two QBs as backups. In that case, could all three be activated as QBs while the Bengals designate Burrow as the inactive emergency QB in the event of a zombie apocalypse where all three active QBs are injured?
I just took a look at an explanation of the rule. It is called “The Third Quarterback Rule.” It depends on interpretation, but the inactive third QB is eligible to participate when the first two are injured but must leave when either of the top two are cleared to return. There’s no requirement to play the emergency QB and there doesn’t appear to be any restrictions on any additional QBs on the active roster. So, it’s possible that Burrow could dress but be protected from playing except in a sole survivor situation.
Hmmm. One year of potentially missing the playoffs, versus potentially impacting ten years or more of playoff windows for a guy who is no danger of being cut. Somehow, this is still a difficult decision still for teams.
I see Burrows as being a very talented guy like Andrew Luck was but with similar durability issues. Forget ten years…he might be too banged up to play 5 years from now.
I could see it happening. That’s even more of a reason to try and preserve Burrow’s body for the future. One season versus multiple is always an easy choice for me.
The Bengals could really use a competent backup that knows their game plan. Not sure they have that.
Browning is serviceable, that said I wish they would’ve held on tighter to Grier whose skillset fits the current scheme a little better
Problem is Browning’s never played a real NFL game before.
Browning is far from servicable. They have zero chance of winning a game in the nfl with browning at qb. I have a feeling aj mccarron will be the new backup qb by next week
So let’s say Burrow is put on short-term IR to really let him recover, which you could debate they should have done to start the year. This would then mean he misses weeks 3-6. My question is this, if Cincy is looking at 0-6 to start the year, because without Burrow we are in big trouble, do you just punt the year and trade Tee Higgins?
Burrows on IR just means adjustments have to be made. More focus on the run game and getting the defense to step up would help ease the pain. The Browns just lost Chubb and the Ravens and Steelers could lose key players as well, so it would be idiotic to just punt the season away.
I think that you’d have to play it by ear. If someone calls you with a great offer, maybe you take it. I don’t think that you actively try to trade him off. They’re not “negotiating” officially right now, but you’d think that the team brass is feeling it out with Higgins through the year to see how this season affects that.
That could mean them also figuring out important Higgins is (or isn’t) to the team. Not having Burrow in could help give a picture of how much Higgins benefits from Burrow’s play, or conversely how much he can elevate a quarterback. So, I don’t think that they’d trade him, but it could be possible that some offers them a big offer that is too good to pass up. The Bengals did draft two receivers this year, ostensibly to replace Boyd, but they have players at the position to attempt to work in to the offense. Not likely that those guys will replace Higgins, but maybe Cincy at some point decides that Boyd isn’t the player they need to replace. It’d have to be a really, really good deal I think though.
Most normal people would think long term health on such a huge asset investment as Burrow yet all should understand ‘teams’ aren’t normal nor do they operate with a conscious.
Past statistics define probability of 0/3 start to season makes it difficult to get in the ‘tournament’ though basing a decision on those metrics doesn’t conclude it’s an impossibility as the season is now longer nor accounts for ‘team mentality’ or ‘motivation’.
Burrow might feel obligated to play after the new contract signing though logic, not sure any team uses that or common sense anytime, would offer ‘time heals’ and a healthier QB is better than one hobbled. Probability of beating the Rams with a limping Joe verses a minimal experienced Browning is 60/40 or 70/30 and Joe could sustain greater misery by participating.
My push would be to wait as their schedule just gets harder. As to ‘trading’ players that’d be panic thinking and not a likely path Cincy would choose to pursue.