CINCINNATI — When Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was carted off the practice field on July 27 with a right leg injury, many in Cincinnati feared the worst.
Fortunately disaster was avoided for the most part, with head coach Zac Taylor revealing the next day that Burrow suffered a right calf strain and will be out for "several weeks".
Burrow's availability for Week 1 remains firmly in question, and his teammate - wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase - made it clear he doesn't want his friend and quarterback back on the field until he is absolutely ready, even if that isn't until Week 5.
Locked on NFL hosts Ross Jackson and Luke Braun broke down Burrow's injury and Chase's comments on a recent episode of the podcast.
"I don't think he'll be 100 percent at all, for the whole year," Braun said of Burrow. "So I think Ja'Marr Chase is giving him some good advice. That is a team that is going to the playoffs, so get healthy by January."
Barring a setback Burrow is likely going to be back on the field well before January, but Chase is far more concerned about Burrow being on the field at the end of the season than at the beginning, which he clarified on Sunday:
"We'd be OK as long as he's there for the end of the season," Chase said Sunday. "We're worried about the bigger picture, not the small picture here."
The Bengals are a deep, balanced team, although they are no doubt at their best when Burrow is under center.
The 26-year-old finished fourth in MVP voting last year after completing 68.3% of his passes while throwing a career-high 35 touchdowns and adding five more on the ground.
If Burrow is back by midseason at the latest, this team will still be in a great spot to go deep in the playoffs and potentially represent the AFC in the 2024 Super Bowl if they can get past Kansas City.