Ja’Marr Chase: Joe Burrow Shouldn’t Play Until Week 5

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase thinks that his quarterback, Joe Burrow, should sit out the early part of the 2023 in order to fully recover from his preseason calf injury.

Chase told NFL Network last week that he wants Burrow to wait until he’s fully healthy before returning to the Cincinnati lineup, even if that means missing games.

“I told him, in all honesty, I don’t want him there,” Chase said. “You don’t want to cause problems later in the season. As long as you’re there after Week Five and on, we’re good, brother.”

Chase spoked with the Cincinnati media on Sunday and doubled down on those comments.

“I just want him to be 100 percent healthy to play,” he said. “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.

“We’d be OK as long as he’s there for the end of the season. We’re worried about the bigger picture here.”

Burrow suffered a calf strain in practice on July 27 and is expected to miss several weeks of practice time. The Bengals have not provided a clear prognosis for when Burrow is expected to return, but the injury should likely keep him out of much of the preseason.

Burrow also missed the entire preseason last year, when he was recovering from an appendectomy. Bengals head coach Zachary Taylor has also frequently chosen not to play his stars in the preseason.

The Steelers took advantage of that in 2022, beating Burrow in Week 1. This year, they’ll have to wait a long while to get their shot at Cincinnati. The Steelers and Bengals don’t play their first game against one another until Nov. 26 at Paycor Stadium, followed by the rematch Dec. 23 in Pittsburgh.

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