Joe Burrow is dealing with a calf injury that has impacted his play through three weeks of the NFL season, but he hasn't yet missed a game because of it.
He has now turned to an expert on calf injuries to help him continue that trend.
It isn't a medical specialist, however. It's Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers detailed in an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" that he had reached out to Burrow after the Bengals' Week 3 win over the Rams to provide him with some advice about managing the calf injury.
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Burrow was receptive to that counseling.
"He's dealt with calf issues his whole career and wanted to use him as a resource and get his thoughts, what he might have done," Burrow said when asked about Rodgers' comments at a news conference Wednesday, per ESPN. "He's been through it, done that. And he was great about it."
Indeed, Rodgers has dealt with chronic calf issues, but he has largely been able to play through them. He missed just 18 games from 2008 to 2022 before suffering a torn Achilles just four snaps into his first season with the Jets.
So, Rodgers is certainly qualified to instruct Burrow about some of the best practices for managing a troublesome calf injury. And he explained that watching Burrow play through pain against the Rams was what prompted him to reach out.
"For him to tough it out, I don't think that people realize how much pain and limited mobility he was in," Rodgers told McAfee on Tuesday. "But for him to gut it out last night and to make enough plays to win, like I texted him, that's what great competitors do. They show up and play through the pain and don't make it a big deal."
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Burrow will look to continue doing that in Week 4 when the Bengals take on the Titans. Cincinnati didn't practice on Wednesday because it is playing on a short week, but the Bengals' injury report estimated that he would have been a full participant in practice.
Is Rodgers to thank for that potential step forward? Burrow declined to reveal what specific advice Rodgers offered him in dealing with the injury.
He did, however, say that he would continue to lean on the Jets quarterback's expertise moving forward.
"[I'm] going to continue to use that as a resource," Burrow said of Rodgers." He's a great guy. Whenever you have a guy like that that's willing to help, you're going to use it."
