Burrow Aggravates Calf Injury in Bengals Loss

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow tweaks the injury to his calf during the loss to the Ravens on Sunday.

One injury around the league dominated the conversation this preseason around the NFL and especially the AFC North. Joe Burrow's calf strain that he suffered at the beginning of training camp would ultimately keep him out for the remainder of the preseason.

Initially, there were many questions about whether he would be able to play against the Cleveland Browns in the season opener. He would indeed return to play the Browns in a game impacted by weather. The defense of the Browns had Burrow under duress the entire game in what would be the worst game of his career.

Today against the Ravens, Burrow and the Bengals offense got off to another slow start. He was only able to manage 35 yards passing in the first half. Things did eventually pick up in the second half as he led two drives that ended with touchdown passes to wide receiver Tee Higgins. It wasn't enough though as Lamar Jackson was able to match Burrow with a couple of touchdown passes in the second half as well. The Bengals would ultimately fall 27-24 to Baltimore.

It appeared that Burrow may have tweaked his right calf on the final touchdown pass to Higgins. Baltimore was able to run out the clock to close out the game. Burrow appeared to be limping off the field post game in a bit of discomfort. 

In his media availability afterwards, he acknowledged that he did indeed tweak the calf. He said he would have gone back into the game if they would have received the ball back. When asked about the week ahead Burrow said he would have to wait and see how it feels over the next few days.

This is a significant development and could have big implications for how the season plays out in the AFC North. The Bengals will have to manage this week to week until he can fully heal. The danger with a calf injury is it can increase the chances of a more serious achilles injury just like what happened to Aaron Rodgers. 

We will keep an eye out for injury updates coming out of Cincinnati this week.