Ja'Marr Chase Says He Doesn't Want Joe Burrow To Play Week 1 If He's Not 100%

There are a lot of eyes on Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow's recovery from a calf injury. It seems like he'll be back in time for the team's season opener, but star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase wants him to hold off his return if he's not completely healed.

The NFL season is a marathon, not a sprint. Ja'Marr Chase gets it.

"I told him that with all honesty I don't want him there," Chase said of Burrow on Inside Training Camp, per NFL.com. "Same thing with me last year."

As he alluded to, Chase is speaking from experience here.

"I sat out an extra game just to let my hip all the way heal up, and you don't want to cause no other problems later on in the season, and I told him as long as you're there after Week 5 and on, we're good brother."

The Bengals are entering the 2023 season with high expectations for them to be among the top teams in the AFC once again. Of course, those expectations are contingent upon a healthy Joe Burrow being under center.

Chase makes a great point that it'd be better to be without Burrow for a couple of games at the beginning of the season than it would be to rush him back into action and risk exacerbating his injury.

The star wideout also gave an update on his QB's rehab project.

"I'm looking at him every day, watching him every day, seeing his rehab, so you know he looks good right now, like I said when it first happened, I've seen his demeanor and the way that he felt I could already tell what happened to him," Chase said. "So he's in good hands, working well, getting his sleep in."

Follow on Twitter: @Matt_Reigle