Browns Week One Opponent Without Star Quarterback for "Several Weeks"

The Queen City held their collective breath when Joe Burrow came up limp and had to be carted off of the practice field on Thursday. Fortunately, he only suffered a strained calf injury, but head coach Zac Taylor announced Burrow will be out "several weeks" and that the team plans to sign another quarterback in the interim.

The Bengals open the season on the road against the Cleveland Browns. It's not realistic that Burrow is going to miss that game, still six weeks away, but Taylor wasn't willing to put a timeline on the situation, saying "several weeks is several weeks" when asked about the opener. Going into this game, most of the questions were about the Browns.

How effective will Deshaun Watson be? How fast will their transformed defense under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz be able to gel and find their footing?

The Bengals now have a significant question of their own to answer. How healthy will Joe Burrow be and will either the status of his calf or lost prep time hurt the Bengals offense to open the season?

Burrow won't forget how to play quarterback and he could come out and be as dominant as he's ever been, but there will be lingering doubts among the Bengals faithful, especially against a team in which Burrow has a career record of 1-4.

If his mobility is limited, that will put more pressure on the offensive line. Orlando Brown Jr. is expected to provide a major boost to Burrow's blindside, which allowed Jonah Williams to move to the right side, which should help, but the Browns have had plenty of success attacking Burrow in the past.

Myles Garrett alone has six sacks and 11 pressures against Burrow in his career and the Browns have bolstered their front with the additions of Za'Darius Smith, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and Dalvin Tomlinson.

It's also unlikely that the chemistry Burrow has developed with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins will be impacted all that much, but the Browns have a talented secondary with plenty of corners who can operate in man coverage with an improved group at safety with the additions of both Juan Thornhill and Rodney McLeod in free agency.

The Bengals may still be favored in this game, but the Browns suddenly become a dangerous opening opponent to start the season. Even if Burrow was fully healthy, the Bengals and Browns will be two completely different teams when they face off again the final week of the season, but Burrow's status further cements that reality.

It would be foolish to assume this guarantees the Browns anything on September 10th, but the status of Burrow will be something the team and both fanbases will certainly be monitoring.