Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is out several weeks (which means “several weeks”) after straining a calf early in camp. Recently, receiver Ja’Marr Chase suggested that the Bengals will be fine even if Burrow misses a large chunk of the regular season.
“I told him, in all honesty, I don’t want him there,” Chase said. “I sat out an extra game just to let my hip heal all the way up. You don’t want to cause problems later in the season. As long as you’re there after Week Five and on, we’re good, brother.”
We completely agree with the idea of Burrow not returning until he’s 100 percent. With a soft-tissue injury, the extra time becomes critical. You think it’s healed, and then you find out when trying to accelerate that it isn’t. And then you have a setback.
That said, what if Burrow isn’t ready until after Week Five? He would miss games at the Browns, vs. the Ravens, vs. the Rams, at the Titans, and at the Cardinals. The options behind Burrow are Trevor Siemian and Jake Browning.
What if they would go 1-4 or 0-5 without Burrow? That would be a very difficult hole to dig out of, especially in an ultra-competitive AFC.
Once a team gets to five or six losses, the window is closing. A record of 10-7 or 9-8 is the likely bare minimum for getting to the postseason. If Burrow would miss five games and if the Bengals lose most of them, they would have their work cut out for them in the final 12 games of the season.