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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow picked up a calf injury last week, one of the things that fans and teams dread about training camp. While it isn't ideal, Burrow is expected to be back in "several weeks," but the actual timeline has some concerned.
With a month to go until the regular season begins, will Burrow be ready to go? Or will the Bengals play the cautious approach given he isn't expected to miss too much game time?
Former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, he thinks the injury is more significant than initially thought.
With the timeline for Joe Burrow's return unknown and with receiver Ja'Marr Chase saying that his quarterback should take as long as he needs to recover, Simms thinks there should be some concern with Burrow's injury.
“I'm not saying I know everything in football, but the term several weeks does not get thrown around very much in football," Simms said via "NFL on NBC." "Several weeks. ... That was the first inkling that had me concerned last week. It's rare. Two to three weeks, four to six weeks.
"They're not sure if it's going to be four or eight weeks. They don't know right now. And I think that's why Ja'marr Chase is saying that. And I think they're, you know, without telling you, yeah, the injury is somewhat significant there.”
Can Bengals cope without Joe Burrow?
How the Cincinnati Bengals cope without Joe Burrow will be decided by how long Burrow misses. With the quarterback room consisting of Trevor Siemian and Jake Browning, if Burrow only misses one or two games to start the season, then, yes, coping shouldn't be an issue.
But calf injuries can linger and be tough to get over. If that one to two games stretches to four or five, then that's a different conversation.
Right now, the Bengals feel upbeat about Burrow's prognosis, and Chase doesn't seem too concerned.
With a wealth of attacking options, the Bengals' offense can cope without Burrow for a couple of weeks, but if that stretches further, then Cincinnati will not want to fall too far behind in the AFC North and be forced to play catchup.
The Bengals have a great roster and, with or without Joe Burrow, are still a tough matchup for anyone in the NFL.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Chris Simms and "NFL on NBC" and H/T Sportskeeda.
