Joe Burrow’s Run of Preseason Bad Luck Continued With Thursday’s Injury

Burrow’s calf injury is just the latest ailment in what’s become an unfortunate preseason trend.

Offseason injuries are an unfortunate part of football, but few players have had to deal with more poorly-timed maladies than Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow in recent years.

Burrow was carted off the practice field on Thursday after injuring his calf. The incident occurred as Burrow scrambled to his right, then pulled up limping without being touched by another player. He took a few hops on his healthy leg before going to the ground, where he received attention from the medical staff before he needed the cart to take him off the field.

While the extent of the injury is not yet known, it’s just the latest setback for Burrow in what’s become an unlucky trend. As the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo pointed out, this marks the fourth consecutive year where Burrow has had his preseason routine disrupted. He suffered a ruptured appendix last year and was recovering from his torn ACL in 2021, while the ’20 season featured no preseason games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joe Burrow told reporters yesterday he was looking forward to extended preseason action for the first time:

2020: COVID, no games
2021: Returning from ACL, 3 snaps
2022: Appendix rupture, no action
2023: Calf strain, ???

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 27, 2023

As the football world awaits more information on how serious Burrow’s injury is, here’s hoping that the Bengals’ franchise quarterback gets a positive break soon to break up this luckless stretch.