Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will be sidelined "several weeks" with a calf strain he suffered in practice on Thursday, head coach Zac Taylor told reporters Friday.
When asked if Burrow will miss the start of the regular season, which begins on September 10 for the Bengals with a game against the Cleveland Browns, Taylor declined to specify and reiterated that he will be out several weeks. Burrow was carted off the practice field Thursday after he started hobbling while scrambling out of the pocket. The 2022 Pro Bowler started hopping on his left foot to keep pressure off of his right leg before falling to the ground.
Two years removed from a Super Bowl appearance and runners-up in the AFC in 2022, the Burrow-led Bengals seemed poised to again be championship contenders. As of July 28 at 5 p.m., DraftKings favors Cincinnati to win it all with the 5th best odds at +1100.
Whether those odds change may depend on how quickly Burrow can return to the field, and how well his backups play in his stead. The only other QBs on Cincinnati's roster currently are Trevor Siemian and Jake Browning, who will rotate starting reps by day, Taylor said.
Siemian, a former starter for the Denver Broncos, is in his first year with the Bengals.
The former Northwestern signal caller was a seventh-round pick by Denver in the 2015 NFL Draft. He won a Super Bowl as a rookie with Denver as a reserve quarterback behind Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler. Siemian started the majority of the next two seasons with the Broncos, compiling a record of 13-11. In recent years, he has served as a backup with the Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints, and Chicago Bears. Siemian has thrown 42 touchdowns and 28 interceptions in 35 career games.
This is Siemian's first year in Cincinnati. Siemian has said Brian Callahan, the Bengals' offensive coordinator, was a factor in his decision to come to Cincinnati. Callahan was an offensive assistant with the Broncos during Siemian's rookie season.
"Familiarity at this stage of my career is huge," Siemian told a group of reporters in May. "Anywhere I can go and know what they're trying to coach and get across in pretty important, especially in the QB room."
Browning went undrafted in 2019 after a standout college career at Washington that saw him finish in sixth place for the Heisman Trophy in 2016 as a sophomore. He spent time on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad before joining the Bengals practice squad in 2021.
Taylor said the Bengals intend to add another quarterback to the roster with Burrow out.
The Bengals went 12-4 last season and fell one game short of the Super Bowl, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Robert Read is a Sports Reporter at Newsweek based in Florida. He previously spent four years working at The Daily ... Read more
