Joe Burrow Rumors: Bengals QB Expected to Start vs. Stafford, Rams Amid Calf Injury

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is expected to start Monday night's game against the Los Angeles Rams as he continues to deal with a calf injury, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and NFL insider Jordan Schultz.

Those reports appeared to be confirmed when Burrow was not listed among the team's inactives.

Dianna Russini of The Athletic had reported earlier on Monday that there was "optimism" that Burrow would play. Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer later reported that Burrow was planning on trying to play, barring a setback.

Jake Browning will be Burrow's backup, and the Bengals elevated Reid Sinnett off the practice squad for Monday's game.

Burrow has been dealing with an injured calf since the first week of training camp. He missed the entire preseason and then aggravated the injury during the Bengals' Week 2 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

While Burrow managed to play the first two games despite the injury, he's been clearly performing below his standard. The Pro Bowler has thrown for only 304 yards and two touchdowns against one interception, and he's tied for last among the NFL's starting quarterbacks in yards per attempt (4.2).

"That's the ups and downs of the year," Burrow told reporters. "The teams that come out on top at the end of it are going to be the teams that handle that adversity the best. You can't let it snowball on you. That's what we've done in the past. And if you go back and look year to year, the teams that are still in at the end, everybody has adversity at some point in the year."

The Washington product was an undrafted free agent in 2019. He played on the Vikings practice squad his first two seasons before coming to Cincinnati in 2021.