Cincinnati Bengals’ quarterback Joe Burrow is reportedly likely to be ready for the team’s season opener against the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 10.
Two weeks ago, Burrow suffered a right calf strain during practice and had to be carted off the field, immediately leading to concern that his injury was season-ending. But head coach Zac Taylor revealed soon after that it was a calf strain and that Burrow would miss multiple weeks.
During an appearance on SportsCenter (h/t Adam Wells of Bleacher Report), ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the first overall pick of 2020 is expected to play in the Bengals’ Week 1 contest against the state rivals:
“People I’ve talked to do believe that for Week 1, he’ll be ready to go. That it would be hard for him to pass that up, that he’s trying to prepare himself to play, but Zac Taylor has said it’s probably going to be another several weeks. They’re taking this really slowly. It would be at least a mild surprise if he played in some of the preseason action, but we’ll see if it shakes out or if that calf perks up. It’s a calf strain, it’s something that he can manage and he’s slowly working his way back. Signs are pointing in the right direction. There’s no major setback that I’m aware of.”
Burrow watched the Bengals’ Friday Week 1 preseason game against the Green Bay Packers from the sidelines. Backup Trevor Siemian saw most of the action, completing 15 of 28 pass attempts for 121 yards. Jake Browning also saw playing time, completing 10 passes for 95 yards.
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The Bengals’ next preseason game will take place against the Atlanta Falcons on Friday, and then they’ll wrap up against the Washington Commanders on Aug. 26.
Last season, Burrow completed 68.3 percent of pass attempts for 4,475 yards for 35 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. The Bengals reached their second straight AFC Championship Game, dropping a last-second heartbreaker to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
After visiting Cleveland in Week 1, the Bengals will return home to welcome the Baltimore Ravens in a Week 2 afternoon showdown.
