Ja'Marr Chase Wants Bengals QB Joe Burrow To Miss Week 2 vs. Ravens
A year ago, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was sidelined after undergoing an appendectomy at the beginning of training camp. He playfully drove a golf cart alongside teammates while they were running sprints.
This time? Not so playful, as Bengals star on July 27th was carted off the Cincy practice field amid grave concern. Burrow - a main obstacle in the Ravens’ goal of winning the division on the way to the playoffs - pulled up lame in the middle of his work with the offense. There was speculation that it might be a calf injury; that’s now confirmed.
As one Bengals beat writer on the scene said, “Massive news.” Indeed - and that may be an understatement. And one of Burrow's teammates has Burrow's best interests at heart when he says he wants Burrow to miss some time to start the season.
Chase had previously said, “I told him, in all honesty, I don’t want him there. You don’t want to cause problems later in the season. As long as you’re there after Week 5 and on, we’re good, brother.” Chase recently spoke to the media and doubled down: "I just want him to be 100% healthy to play. I don’t want him rushing nothing, I don’t want people in his ear telling him to play at a certain time. I just want him to be healthy,"
If Burrow misses the first two weeks, that means he'd miss the first matchup with the Ravens in Week 2. That would have to give the Ravens the edge for a win, and probably make them the favorite. With Burrow in the lineup, there's no doubt Baltimore would be the underdog.
Chase isn't wishing ill will on Burrow, as the two are best friends going back to their college days, but is looking out for what's best for Burrow and the team. It's better to have Burrow 100 percent, even if that means missing some time to start the season.
As we get closer to the regular season, we'll have a better picture of how much - if any- time Burrow will miss, but Ravens fans can cross their fingers that it's at least two weeks.
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