Steelers AFC North Rivals Hopeful Joe Burrow Injury Won't Cause Regular Season Struggle

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a few days into their training camp, and along with drilling fundamentals and learning playbooks, the goal is to keep everyone healthy. The heat at St. Vincent College has already started to get to a few players, but nothing too serious as of yet. For the Cincinnati Bengals, though, things have not gone quite as well. Quarterback Joe Burrow had to be carted off the field during Thursday's practice with a calf injury.

Steelers' Rivals Hoping For The Best

Watching players go down with injuries is an unfortunate reality of preseason, but when it happens so early in a team's camp the ripples can spread quickly. Burrow will not be a hands-on participant during the remainder of Cincinnati's training camp, that is simply a fact at this point. The Pro Bowl quarterback will turn his focus away from the practice field and towards whatever rehab will get him back under center at 100%.

While the experience gained in training camp is beyond important for young players, Burrow has actually run into detours during quite a few years since he was drafted; knee recovery in 2020, appendix issues in 2021, and then his calf strain now. The word "strain" doesn't hold much weight when up against other more drastic football injuries, but it is not as simple to come back from as it seems.

The initial perspective given by Bengals Head Coach, Zac Taylor, had Burrow out at least a few weeks and that didn't change on Friday according to Olivia Ray of WLWT. With Burrow already working at his rehab, the Bengals' goal will be to focus on the players who are able to be on the field until their leader returns.

Considering the severe degree of some of the past injuries that Burrow has experienced, the entire team is grateful that their quarterback isn't going to be dealing with something severe. However, that doesn't mean Burrow's road back to the practice field will be an easy one, since these kinds of muscle injuries are tricky and can linger over the course of a season.

Steelers May Face A Weakened Burrow In 2023

There is no guarantee that Burrow will be able to do the work, rehab, and be back at his full self by the early part of the regular season. The calf strain, depending on the degree, is the kind of injury that is more case-by-case. Some players tweak their calf and are fine within the usual timeframe, but in 33% of cases, as reported by The Athletic, the injury will reemerge at some point during the season.

In the report by The Athletic, Dr. Jessica Flynn, who works at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Boston as a sports medical doctor, says many who experience this type of injury will be fine with rehab and patience, but it's the others that end up running into trouble down the line.

“These injuries, most athletes do fine. Two-thirds, they have the injury, they heal, they do fine. One out of three is going to have a recurrence sometime during the season.”

This kind of calf injury isn't rare in the NFL, but when it comes to quarterbacks, it has a different kind of impact. For a player who handles the ball more than any offensive player, the risk of that injury striking again during a game is real. Burrow isn't alone in being a household quarterback name dealing with a calf injury. Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Andrew Luck, Dak Prescott, and Jimmy Garoppolo have all dealt with the same general kind of injury, with each player having varied responses to the rehab.

Prescott, for example, struggled in 2021 due to the calf injury never really going away, but Brady went through it in both 2014 and 2019, only to not miss any games due to the strain. Burrow is a warrior when it comes to working himself back from serious injuries, but this is a different ballgame. He will need patience more than physical strength to push through this one, and while he is doing so, the Bengals can't afford to just wait and see. The team is reportedly working out a few different quarterbacks as options in case Burrow's calf ends up being one of the 33%.

Ian Rapoport has the Bengals looking at two specific quarterbacks, Drew Plitt and Reid Sinnett, to be the "in case" guy depending on how Burrow's calf rehab goes.

There is no definite roadmap for the Bengals to follow here, but in a vicious AFC North division, a setback like this - especially if it lingers throughout the year - could be the difference between the Bengals continuing their high-flying status, or having them crash back down to earth. All eyes will be on Burrow as he does what he does best during preseason; work through injury.

How much will Joe Burrow's injury impact the AFC North? Comment below!

#SteelerNation