Sep 17, 2023; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) stands on the field during warmups prior to the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

Bengals QB Joe Burrow (calf) remains day-to-day

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow remains day-to-day with a right calf injury, coach Zac Taylor said Thursday.

Burrow’s availability for 0-2 Cincinnati’s Monday night date with the Los Angeles Rams (1-1) remains cloudy.

“Soreness is an issue right now, so giving him some time is best,” Taylor said. “That’s all I’ll say about today.”

Burrow, 26, was originally injured in a training camp session on July 27 and did not participate in practices or preseason games for five weeks. He returned in time to sign a five-year, $275 million contract and suit up for the regular-season opener.

Burrow ranks 28th in the NFL in passing yards (310) and has just one completion longer than 20 yards, a 32-yarder to running back Joe Mixon. He is averaging 4.22 yards per pass attempt, down from 7.38 last season and a league-leading 8.87 in 2021.

–Field Level Media

Sep 17, 2023; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) jumps over Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton (21) during the first half at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

Lamar Jackson, Ravens drop Bengals to 0-2

Lamar Jackson finished 24-of-33 passing for 237 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 54 yards to lead the visiting Baltimore Ravens past the Cincinnati Bengals 27-24 on Sunday.

Joe Burrow completed 27 of 41 passes for 222 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Burrow aggravated his right calf injury on his second touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter.

The Ravens (2-0) took early control with a 75-yard drive in 13 plays. Gus Edwards had three carries for 20 yards, including a 1-yard scoring plunge that capped the drive.

The Bengals (0-2) again had trouble getting their offense in gear, going three-and-out on their first drive and punting on their first two possessions.

The Bengals caught a break when Justin Tucker missed a 59-yard field goal wide right late in the first quarter. After assuming possession at their 49, the Bengals could manage just two yards and punted.

Cincinnati’s offense was booed off the field after their second drive as the offense managed just 14 yards and no first downs.

Burrow completed four of his first five passes but only for 13 yards.

It appeared the Bengals were going to get a big break when Trey Hendrickson forced a fumble and Logan Wilson recovered at the Baltimore 18 to open the second quarter.

But Zach Carter was flagged for illegal hands to the face and the Ravens retained possession. The Ravens would punt three plays later, resulting in Cincinnati’s first touchdown of the season, an 81-yard punt return by rookie Charlie Jones.

Jones took the ball at his 19, started up field, made a sharp cut to the sideline and raced untouched up the left sideline for his first career touchdown.

Tucker finished the first half with his second field goal, a 40-yarder that gave Baltimore a 13-10 halftime lead.

Cincinnati’s offense showed good signs to open the second half and seemed poised to score their first offensive touchdown. Facing second-and-8 at the Ravens 17, Burrow’s pass for Tee Higgins at the goal line was picked off by Geno Stone.

The 36-yard interception return was followed by a 50-yard bomb from Jackson to rookie Zay Flowers, who beat corners Cam Taylor-Britt and DJ Turner. Three plays later, Jackson found Mark Andrews on a three-yard pass for the touchdown that made it 20-10.

The Bengals finally put together an offensive touchdown drive when they needed it most, marching 75 yards on 13 plays. Burrow connected with Higgins from three yards out on third-and-goal to cut the deficit to 20-17.

But Jackson engineered another 75-yard scoring drive, capped by Jackson’s picture-perfect 17-yard fade pass to Nelson Agholor that beat Chido Awuzie, putting Baltimore up 27-17 with just over 11 minutes remaining.

Burrow found Higgins again, this time on a 4-yard touchdown pass, to make it 27-24 with 3:28 left in the game before the Ravens ran out the clock.

–Field Level Media

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow speaks Saturday, September 9, 2023 at Paycor Stadium after signing his record-setting contract. Burrow became the highest-paid player in NFL history on an annual basis at $55 million per year.

Bengals QB Joe Burrow signs his record NFL contract

Joe Burrow put the pen to paper on Saturday as the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback signed the richest-ever NFL contract.

The Bengals confirmed reports that the deal is for five years and $275 million. Spotrac lists the contract with $219 million in guaranteed money.

The Bengals made Burrow, from Athens, Ohio, the No. 1 overall selection of the 2020 NFL Draft.

“My father always said that in the NFL, the quarterback is like the key to your car,” said Bengals president Mike Brown, whose father was the legendary coach Paul Brown. “You can have a great car, but you need a key to get the car going and to operate it at a high level. We feel that we have a good one in Joe.”

The contract extension kicks in with the 2025 season and runs through 2029. He will earn $5.5 million this season in the final year of his four-year rookie deal and $29.5M in 2024 on his fifth-year option.

Head coach Zac Taylor said Burrow, a fourth-year captain, is the right quarterback for his team.

“Quarterback is the most critical position in sports, and Joe has embraced his role here with intelligence and determination,” Taylor said. “The team responds to Joe as our quarterback, and we look forward to a bright future with Joe continuing to lead our talented roster. He makes everyone better.”

Burrow was on the roster at Ohio State for three years before transferring to LSU, where he won the Heisman Trophy and a national championship. The fact that he has found his success in Ohio is significant, he said Saturday.

“I had some unfinished business in Ohio. My one athletic failing so far, in my opinion, is my time at Ohio State,” he said, wearing his Athens High School football sweatshirt. “I didn’t get to play. So to come back and kind of redeem myself in that way has been important to me.”

Burrow has started 42 career regular-season games for the Bengals and already has single-season franchise records for passing attempts (606 in 2022), completions (414 in 2022), passing yards (4,611 in 2021), touchdown passes (35 in 2022), and passer rating (108.3 in 2021). Among NFL quarterbacks with a minimum of 1,500 career pass attempts, he is the leader in completion percentage with 68.2.

He also led the Bengals to their first Super Bowl since 1989 following the 2021 season, a 23-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI.

Burrow, 26, strained his calf early in training camp and missed a month of practice and all three preseason games before returning last week. Taylor said Burrow will start the season opener on Sunday against the Browns in Cleveland.

–Field Level Media

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow returned to practice Wednesday, August 30, 2023 as the team prepares for the season opener against the Browns Burrow suffered a calf injury on July 27, has not participated in practice publicly, but did go through his normal pregame warmup before the Bengals' preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 11.

Bengals OC: QB Joe Burrow on track to start Week 1

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow appears to be trending toward starting Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, according to offensive coordinator Brian Callahan.

Burrow, 26, practiced for the second straight day Thursday after missing six weeks with a strained calf.

“I think he’s in a good place and we got a good plan in place for him to get ready for Week 1,” said Callahan, who added that Burrow’s absence didn’t seem to have an effect on his physical appearance or performance on the field.

When the Bengals resume practice Monday, Burrow — who participated on all of the individual drills during the portion open to the media Thursday — will take part in what Callahan termed “intense team periods,” which will be the next step to measure his progress.

Working in Burrow’s favor is his familiarity with the system and the players, which means he’ll quickly be up to speed.

“It’s part of what makes him special to begin with,” Callahan said. “And so those are his strengths that he’s playing into.”

Bengals coach Zac Taylor said the team would continue to monitor Burrow daily but wouldn’t commit to him starting the Week 1 game, Sept. 10 at Cleveland.

“I don’t think there’s a defined checklist we need to see,” Taylor said. “It was just good to get him out with the team and calling plays in the huddle and all that good stuff at practice. I think that was encouraging for everybody.”

Burrow, who guided the Bengals to the Super Bowl during his second NFL season in 2021-22, is the next quarterback in line for a massive payday. However, on Thursday, Taylor wouldn’t comment on negotiations between the team and Burrow on a possible contract extension for the fourth-year Pro Bowl quarterback.

The Los Angeles Chargers recently made Justin Herbert the new highest-paid player in the NFL at $52.5 million per year (five-year extension worth $262.5 million), following extensions earlier this offseason for the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson ($260 million) and the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts ($255 million).

–Field Level Media

Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson (55) sacks Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) in the third quarter during a Week 15 NFL game, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The Cincinnati Bengals won, 34-23. The Cincinnati Bengals improved to 10-4 on the season.

Nfl Cincinnati Bengals At Tampa Bay Buccaneers Dec 18 0098

Reports: Bengals LB Logan Wilson agrees to 4-year extension

The Cincinnati Bengals and linebacker Logan Wilson have agreed to terms for a four-year contract extension worth up to $37.25 million, according to multiple media reports.

The 27-year-old will average $11.2 million in each of the first two years, according to NFL.com.

Wilson, in the final year of his rookie contract, made a career-high 123 tackles last season.

Drafted in the third round out of Wyoming in 2020, Wilson has a total of 256 tackles with 12 tackles for loss, seven interceptions, 11 pass deflections, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in 40 games (30 starts).

–Field Level Media

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) hands off to running back Joe Mixon (28) during an off-season workout inside Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Wednesday, June 14, 2023.

Reports: RB Joe Mixon reworks deal to stay with Bengals

Instead of getting released, Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon agreed to restructure his contract to remain with the team, multiple media outlets reported on Friday.

Mixon, who signed a four-year, $48 million extension in 2020, was due to make $10.1 million this season with a $12.8 million cap hit. The revised deal frees up cash and cap room for the Bengals.

“Joe just agreed to a restructuring of his deal,” Mixon’s agent, Peter Schaffer, told NFL Network. “His goal is to win a Super Bowl and play his career in Cincinnati, and this is the best way to accomplish these goals.”

Mixon, who turns 27 on July 24, is coming off a season in which he rushed for 814 yards and seven touchdowns. The previous season, he helped the Bengals make the Super Bowl, rushing for 1,205 yards and 13 touchdowns en route to his first Pro Bowl selection.

A second-round pick of the Bengals in 2017, Mixon has 5,378 career rushing yards, an average of 4.1 yards per carry and 40 rushing touchdowns in 80 games (71 starts). He also has 10 receiving TDs and 231 catches for 1,763 yards.

Mixon pleaded not guilty to one count of aggravated menacing in April. He was charged after allegedly pointing a gun at a woman while driving.

–Field Level Media

Feb 13, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Cincinnati Bengals tight end Drew Sample (89) reacts after losing the game against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Bengals bring back TE Drew Sample

The Cincinnati Bengals re-signed tight end Drew Sample, who missed all but two games last season due to a knee injury, to a one-year contract Friday.

Sample, 26, was an unrestricted free agent and visited with the Arizona Cardinals before re-signing.

The Bengals made the 6-foot-5, 255-pound Sample a second-round draft pick (52nd overall) out of Washington in 2019. Primarily a blocking tight end, he has played in 44 games (25 starts) with 58 receptions for 458 yards and one touchdown.

He started the first two games in 2022 but was injured after catching a pass in the second quarter of the Bengals’ 20-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 18 and was out for the rest of the year. Sample was in the final season of a four-year, $5.5 million rookie deal.

–Field Level Media

Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon (28) jogs off the field at the conclusion of the AFC championship NFL game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. The Kansas City Chiefs lead the Cincinnati Bengals, 13-6, at halftime.

Cincinnati Bengals At Kansas City Chiefs Afc Championship Jan 29 0301

Arrest warrant issued for Bengals’ Joe Mixon on menacing charge

Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon has a warrant for his arrest on a charge of aggravated menacing, according to court records.

Mixon allegedly pointed a gun at a woman and said, “You should be popped in the face. I should shoot you. The police (can’t) get me,” on Jan. 21 in Cincinnati, according to an affidavit filed Thursday in Hamilton County Municipal Court, per multiple media reports.

The Bengals issued a statement Thursday and said, “The club is aware misdemeanor charges have been raised against Joe Mixon. The club is investigating the situation and will not comment further at this time.”

Mixon, 26, completed his sixth season with the Bengals, who lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 23-20 in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday. This season, he had 210 carries for 814 yards and seven touchdowns and caught 60 passes for 441 yards and two TDs. In his six seasons, Mixon has rushed for 5,378 yards on 1,314 carries and 40 TDs, along with 231 catches for 1,763 yards and 10 scores.

The Bengals selected Mixon in the second round with the 48th overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. A potential first-round pick, he dropped in the draft after concerns about his character. While at Oklahoma in 2014, Mixon pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge for punching a woman in the face.

Mixon signed a four-year, $48 million extension in 2020 and was named to the Pro Bowl that season.

–Field Level Media