Should the Cincinnati Bengals consider sitting Joe Burrow for the year? Why Cincinnati should consider saving $275,000,000 investment

Joe Burrow is probably having some flashbacks, back his rookie season, when he picked up a season-ending injury. The ACL tear was an absolute nightmare scenario for the first pick in the 2020 NFL draft. However, he certainly bounced back the next year. The Bengals won the division and were a drive away from beating the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl.

Burrow's calf injury made him miss out on the Thursday practice heading into the Monday night game against the Rams. The quarterback has been carrying this injury since pre-season. This is why he was not very involved in the Bengals' pre-season games. His first game back from this injury was ideal, given Myles Garrett was on the field.

Burrow was much better in the week two loss against the Baltimore Ravens, but a red zone interception at 13-10 was a killer. The Ravens scored a touchdown following the interception, and the Bengals blew their chance to win the game. J'marr Chase only had five catches for 31 yards, and a big reason for that lies with his quarterback.

With this injury, Burrow is not the same evasive quarterback he was in 2021 and 2022. Chase has 70 yards in the first two games, and his longest catch is 13 yards. A player who is known for big plays and long yards after catch potential is basically not existent. Tee Higgins had two touchdowns in the Ravens game, but he did not have a single yard against the Browns.

The Bengals have not had a potent run game since drafting Joe Burrow. Joe Mixon is solid, but he's one of the elite NFL running backs in this pass-heavy offense. With Aaron Donald prepping to sack Joe Burrow on Monday, the Bengals have a big decision to make. Is it time to sacrifice the Super Bowl-potential team to save their quarterback or keep Burrow going?

Joe Burrow claims Bengals' Super Bowl window is permanently open

Cincinnati Bengals v Cleveland Browns

Back in January, after the hard-fought win against the Ravens to claim the division for the second-year running:

"The window is my whole career ... everybody that we have in that locker room, all the coaches we have. Things are going to change year-to-year, but our window is always open."

Of course, the AFC Championship game loss against the Chiefs made this quote look different. A last-second Harrison Butker field goal gave the Chiefs revenge against the team that was haunting them, and the Chiefs lifted the Lombardi two weeks later.

This is definitely a Super Bowl-caliber roster, but with quite a few free agents in the coming year, there is a little bit of cause for concern. Joe Burrow signed a new seven-year deal just before the new season started, and even less money is in the pot now. Superstar receivers like Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd could be gone, along with tackle Jonah Williams, as well.

The Bengals' future is completely up in the air because of this calf injury.