The Cincinnati Bengals face an almost impossible task with Joe Burrow.
If they don’t play Burrow on Monday night against the Rams and lose, an 0-3 hole could spell the end of the season before the calendar turns to October. But if they do play him and he gets hurt again or worse than before…we don’t need to finish that one.
Buy Bengals TicketsSunday, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported this very thing has people inside the Bengals organization split:
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is listed as questionable for Monday night’s game against the Rams. He is clearly not 100 percent, and this decision will wait until just a few hours before the game, according to team sources. There are some in the building who want to see Burrow 100 percent fully recovered from his calf injury before he returns to action, but there are others who fear the team’s playoff hopes are on the line and want Burrow in the game.
Good luck figuring out how this one ends. It has been apparent throughout the week that Burrow has ramped up steadily and is doing everything he can to be on the field Monday night, which he’s confirmed in interviews.
But even if doctors and trainers sign off on the risk, there’s a chance someone else higher up in the organization might prefer to keep Burrow healthy long-term. Even head coach Zac Taylor has made it a point to stress that Burrow’s health is more important than anything.
No matter what ends up happening, it has been obvious since the start of the week that the Bengals wouldn’t make this call until near kickoff on primetime. Fittingly, Burrow’s questionable (50-50) on the final injury report. If he doesn’t go, Jake Browning will get the start and new arrival AJ McCarron could be in the mix as the emergency third quarterback.
