Is Joe Burrow Playing Today? Latest Injury News and Fantasy Updates for Bengals QB

Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor said after Saturday’s walk-through that the team still had more than 48 hours to make a decision on whether Joe Burrow will play against the Los Angeles Rams. And the team seemed intent on using every minute allotted to them.

Will Joe Burrow Play Against the Rams on Monday Night?

The deadline for the decision was 6:45 p.m. ET, which is when the inactives list is due, but with about 40 minutes remaining before that, the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Burrow is playing despite being less than 100 percent.

MORE: Cincinnati Bengals News — Reason for Panic at 0-2?

It always was going to be an all-or-nothing decision for the Bengals, as Taylor said Saturday, it’s “doubtful” the team would make Burrow active as a contingency plan if the intent was not to start him.

Burrow said Thursday the extra day afforded by the game being on Monday night is what was giving him hope that he would be able to play after tweaking the injury late in the 27-24 loss to Baltimore on Sept. 17. Burrow did not practice Thursday and was limited Friday and Saturday.

Taylor said earlier in the week it would be “ideal” for Burrow to have at least one full practice, but Burrow said he didn’t think that would be necessary for him to play.

#Bengals vs Rams predictions, #JaysGotStats and key players:https://t.co/RjNbgbLrLv pic.twitter.com/23zqRRx1Z3

— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) September 24, 2023

Multiple Bengals players spent the week expecting Burrow to be inactive, which would have led to Jake Browning making his NFL starting debut.

But Burrow has been getting treatment on the calf, which he originally injured on July 27, all week, and he also has been getting plenty of rest. The decision likely was based less on whether Burrow can play and more on whether he should. And the answer wasn’t easy.

At 0-2 with two division losses, the Bengals cannot afford to fall to 0-3. They also can’t afford to have Burrow reaggravate the calf strain — of which there is a significant likelihood when trying to play before it is 100% healed — and be out for a longer period of time.

Fantasy Fallout for Burrow Injury

– Fantasy analysis provided by Kyle Soppe

The Burrow situation would be difficult for fantasy football managers to deal with on a normal week. Still, with his Bengals playing on Monday night, there is a layer of risk management that goes into making this decision that is unique.

What do the numbers say about balancing risk with reward for Week 3?

This is the hard part for fantasy managers. At the QB position, you can grab a replacement, and we’ll get to that in a minute.

But for the WR position, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins were supposed to drive your team’s success, and now you’re forced to decide if they’re even playable in Week 3 against the Rams.

Let’s get nerdy.

Jake Browning will take over should Burrow sit, something that sounds like the betting favorite as we sit here today. And thus, the betting favorite as you are forced to make lineup decisions before the Sunday games start, and you lose access to your reserves.

Up to this point, that would slot in Chase as the WR29 and Higgins as the WR39. Do they hold an upside that trumps that? Of course, but with Browning being an unknown and the fact that the Rams currently lead the league in average time of possession (Bengals rank 27th), the downside comes with both quality and quantity of targets.