Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has a plan in place.
While it sounds tricky, Burrow isn’t shy about it — he plans to keep starting each game while letting his injured calf progress to 100 percent, provided there aren’t any setbacks.
“It will get better each week I don’t have a setback,” Burrow said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “It’s big to get through Monday without any setbacks. That means it will be stronger this week and if I get through this week without having any setbacks, it will be stronger the next week. All you can do is rest it and take time. But I’m going to continue to play and continue to practice and it will get stronger throughout the year.”
Easier said than done on a thing as fickle as calf injuries, but getting through a 49-attempt game against an Aaron Donald-led defense is a good start. Now he has to turn around and get through a game against a Tennessee team on a short week that features elite defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons.
On paper, if Burrow can make it through the next three games (Tennessee, Arizona and Seattle), the Bengals have a bye in Week 7 and wouldn’t play again until October 29. It’s possible that he could be at 100 percent by then, which could set the team up nicely for a big second-half stretch of the season.
So for now, don’t expect to see a lot of Burrow in practice (he was “full” on Wednesday during a walkthrough) as they take it easy in the interests of this gradual recovery. But those limited practices won’t tell the story about his actual game status as this plan gets in motion.
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