Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was carted off the field after suffering a non-contact leg injury early in camp. The injury initially appeared serious but the team later revealed that the superstar would miss “several weeks” after hurting his calf. By all accounts, a serious, long-term issue had been avoided.
Still, there’s no guarantee that Burrow will be back in time for Cincinnati’s Week 1 game. And that’s perfectly fine with wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who says he wants Burrow to sit that one (and maybe more) out.
Joe Burrow is playing Week 1, right?@Real10jayy__ on @nflnetwork:
“I told him, that with all honesty, I don’t want him there.” pic.twitter.com/0YbX8KHKTL
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) August 4, 2023
“I told him, that with all honesty, I don’t want him there,” Chase said. “Same thing with me last year.
“I sat out an extra game just to let my hip all the way heal up, and you don’t want to cause no other problems later on in the season, and I told him as long as you’re there after Week 5 and on, we’re good brother.”
Burrow was receptive to Chase’s message but wouldn’t commit to sitting out longer than he needs to. He simply told the receiver that he’ll see how the calf feels when the time comes and then make a decision from there.
Ultimately, Chase wishes he had a healing touch and was able to cure Burrow’s ails.
“I wish I did, man,” Chase said, via NFL.com. “I’m looking at him every day, watching him every day, seeing his rehab, so you know he looks good right now, like I said when it first happened, I’ve seen his demeanor and the way that he felt I could already tell what happened to him. So he’s in good hands, working well, getting his sleep in.”
The Bengals open up the season on Sunday, September 10 on the road against the Cleveland Browns.
