Bengals Beat: Looking To Dodge Bullet On Joe Burrow’s Right Calf, Defensive Backs Shine

CINCINNATI — There might be a huge exhale coming from Paycor Stadium.

The Bengals believe they may have escaped a major calamity with Joe Burrow’s right calf. The franchise quarterback expect to sign a record contract extension before the opener in Cleveland Sept. 10 pulled up lame Thursday on a scramble 90 minutes into practice.

Initial indications are that he suffered a strain of the muscle, which was protected heading into practice by a black sleeve in sweltering 90-degree conditions with 70-percent humidity.

If it is just the muscle and it’s not a major rupture as the team and Burrow hope, then we’re looking at 2-4 or 3-5 weeks for a timetable and he should be ready for the season.

Burrow – almost certainly – is done in terms of playing “one or two series” in the preseason as he indicated on Wednesday.

There is obvious precedent for this as he returned from the ACL tear and opened against the Minnesota Vikings in the 2021 opener. He came back from appendicitis last year and made it back for the 2022 opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Not ideal but the Bengals can consider themselves incredibly lucky if he’s back practicing late in August or early September getting ready for the Browns.

Inside The Numbers:

According to Field Yates of ESPN, Trey Hendrickson’s one-year extension through 2025 includes $21 million in new money, with a $5 million raise for 2023 and $16 million in 2025.

The defensive end will make $14.8 million this season, matching his 2024 salary, which is unchanged. The other $16 million will come in the form of his salary for 2025.

“I let my play do my talking,” Hendrickson said Thursday. “I’ve done that every year. I try not to weigh in on my play in particular. One of the things that I take a lot of pride in is being able to play at a high level with a lot of great guys on this defense, and it’s just special.”

As the Bengals look for cap space to fit in Burrow, Tee Higgins, Logan Wilson and others, the extension offers the team The deal more cap space this season.

Hendrickson also indicated that things are all good with Orlando Brown Jr. after their tussle Wednesday that left a couple of claw marks on the star defense edge’s neck, a battle that Brown immediately apologized for after practice that day.

“I don’t think anybody carries anything from the field into the locker room,” I think that speaks a lot of Zac as a head coach. It’s a competitive environment and the only way we’re going to get better is giving it our all.

“I think the max is one on offense and one on defense, so I think we’ve hit our max. It was great. Anytime we’re competing at the highest level things like that are going to happen. It’s just on to the next day and I do appreciate those things.”

So, no hard feelings?

“He’s my teammate,”Hendrickson said. “Nothing we’re more focused on than making the Bengals the best team. I think you can ask him the same thing. He’s a Bengal. I think he’s happy to be a Bengal. There’s a lot of things that go into that. We’re just looking forward to a good season, going hard against each other and making each other better.”

Battles Brewing:

One of the more fascinating battles to watch two days into camp has been the hand-to-hand combat between receivers and cornerbacks. Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase have had their battles with Sidney Jones IV and Cam Taylor-Britt respectively. This doesn’t even include Chido Awuzie, who was on his own working against air on Thursday while cheering on CTB and others.

Taylor-Britt was beaten on a 60-yard go route for a touchdown on a perfectly-placed Burrow pass just moments before Burrow came up lame. Just after that play, Chase ran an out to the sideline, made the grab and got both feet down inbounds for a 20-yard gain on the far sideline behind CTB.

Another corner who has looked solid is Michigan rookie DJ Turner II. His speed is exceptional and he has been getting in and out of his breaks cleanly, something Bengals scouts loved when watching his film and something that made him an easy second-round pick. Turner also took reps fielding punts before practice Thursday.

Jackson Carman Gets His Turn:

As he did in OTAs and mini-camp, Jackson Carman took reps as the starting right tackle Thursday, with Zac Taylor and company staying true to their promise to get both Carman and Jonah Williams reps at the position. It’s clear that the Bengals want Williams to win the spot and he will, barring anything out of the ordinary.

Drue Chrisman Hospital Update:
Bengals punter Drue Chrisman was not in attendance for the first two days of camp. On Friday, he tweeted out a picture explaining why. It was him in a hospital bed with a gash on the left side of forehead and the message, “Thank you to everyone who has reached out. I appreciate your thoughts and prayers. Everything looking to be okay and hopefully back soon🙌🏼”

Chrisman is in a battle for the punting job with Michigan rookie Brad Robbins.