Prominent NFL head coach sends message to Zac Taylor after Joe Burrow's injury
The Cincinnati Bengals suffered a major scare on Thursday afternoon when quarterback Joe Burrow went down with a calf injury. It appears that Cincinnati avoided the worst-case scenario with Burrow as the injury has been described as a calf strain. While we don't know how long Burrow will be out, the calf strain isn't expected […]
The Cincinnati Bengals suffered a major scare on Thursday afternoon when quarterback Joe Burrow went down with a calf injury.
It appears that Cincinnati avoided the worst-case scenario with Burrow as the injury has been described as a calf strain.
While we don't know how long Burrow will be out, the calf strain isn't expected to force the superstar quarterback to miss any regular season games.
Still, it's an unfortunate development for a franchise that has only one goal in mind in 2023 — winning the Super Bowl.
Burrow's injury, as expected, sent shockwaves through the NFL. Anytime one of the sport's biggest stars goes down with an injury in July, it's a reminder of the perils of training camp, which every player is essentially just trying to survive.
Prominent NFL head coach sends message to Zac Taylor after Joe Burrow's injury
Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur sent Bengals head Zac Taylor a text message after learning about Burrow's injury.
Taylor was the Los Angeles Rams' assistant wide receivers coach in 2017 when LaFleur was the offensive coordinator in LA.
(Note: The Bengals and the Packers will hold joint practices in Cincinnati in August before the first preseason game of the year.)
"I shot him a text and just said, 'I hope your QB's OK!' Certainly, we're looking forward to him being in there," said LaFleur on Friday. "I mean, he's one of the elite quarterbacks the National Football League. And I just love how the guy competes. And we saw it firsthand — I want to say, was it two years ago when we played them? He's as tough as they come. I remember that one shot he took, I thought he was definitely gonna be out of the game and then he's in on the next series and I was like, 'Man, they don't make too many guys like this.' So certainly, I hope he's okay. Because you never want to see that with any player, let alone a guy with the stature of Joe Burrow."
The Packers beat the Bengals 25-22 in overtime in 2021 in the game that LaFleur referenced on Friday.
The NFL is full of competitors. Guys don't want to win game the easy way when superstars are sidelined. Instead, they want to compete against the best of the best — that's why coaches and players have made it to this level.
So it's not a surprise that LaFleur wants to see Burrow back on the field, even though it ultimately makes life in the NFL a little tougher. LaFleur, who spent the last few years around Aaron Rodgers, knows that the NFL is at its best when players like Burrow are fully healthy.
Joe Burrow addresses controversial moment during Bengals training camp
Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow addressed a controversial moment during Bengals training camp
Featured image via Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
