NFL Rumors: Joe Burrow hit up Aaron Rodgers on dealing with a calf injury
Joe Burrow certainly hasn't looked like himself through the first three weeks of the season, completing just 55.4% of his passes with two touchdowns and two picks during the Cincinnati Bengals' 1-2 start.
Of course, some of his woeful play can be attributed to the lingering calf injury he suffered during the early days of training camp, an injury he reaggravated in Cincy's Week 2 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Despite the pain, however, Burrow hit the field in Week 3 and led the Bengals to a 19-16 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football.
And perhaps one of the reasons he was able to gut it out was some advice he got from another quarterback who's dealt with calf injuries during his career, that being none other than Aaron Rodgers.
Burrow told ESPN that he and Rodgers connected last week and that the four-time NFL MVP has been extremely helpful.
"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," said Burrow. "He's been through it, done that. And he was great about it."
Rodgers confirmed the conversation during his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show and stated how impressed he was by Burrow's performance.
"For him to tough it out, I don't think that people realize how much pain and limited mobility he was in," Rodgers said. "But for him to gut it out . . . 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."
Barring any setbacks, Burrow should be even stronger for the Bengals' Week 4 matchup with the Tennessee Titans.
NFL Rumors: Ryan Tannehill to the New York Jets to replace Zach Wilson?
To put it mildly, Zach Wilson hasn't played good football since taking over for Aaron Rodgers just four plays into the New York Jets' first offensive drive of the 2023 campaign.
Sure, he helped Gang Green to an emotional upset win over the Buffalo Bills that night. But the Jets have taken two straight defeats since, and Wilson has been one of the big reasons why, completing just 47.6% of his passes with one touchdown and three interceptions in losses to the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots.
Despite the fact that Robert Saleh maintains that he'll continue to stick with Wilson through thick and thin, that hasn't stopped the rumor mill from churning as several big names have been floated out as possible replacements, including the likes of Kirk Cousins, Matt Ryan, and Carson Wentz, among others.
In the same column mentioned in the previous slide, Jeremy Fowler threw somewhat of a dark-horse candidate into the mix: Ryan Tannehill.
As the Titans may end up benching the one-time Pro Bowler sooner rather than later to give Will Levis his shot, this actually might make sense.
Fowler pointed out how Tannehill would cost less than Cousins and also how Tannehill also already has a connection in New York as the Jets' pass game coordinator is Todd Downing, who spent four years with the Titans, two as the tight ends coach and two as the offensive coordinator. So Tannehill would seemingly be quite comfortable with the Jets' offense.
But, again, Saleh seems committed to Wilson and apparently has no interest in bringing anyone else in. But if Wilson continues to play poorly, Saleh still has his own employment status to consider. So we'll see how this plays out.
NFL Rumors: Jonathan Taylor "still doesn't want to play for the Colts"
Despite not having disgruntled running back Jonathan Taylor in uniform the first three weeks of the season, the Indianapolis Colts haven't really missed him much during their surprising 2-1 start as Zack Moss has performed well.
And while Taylor is eligible to return from the PUP list following Indy's Week 4 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams, ESPN's Dan Graziano reports that the 2021 First-Team All-Pro "still doesn't want to play for the Colts," also stating that the Colts "still don't want to give him a long-term contract."
Unhappy with his current contract situation, Taylor requested a trade during the preseason and was permitted by the team to attempt to find a suitable trade partner. As we all know, he was unsuccessful in his quest and was placed on the PUP list with an ankle injury, leaving him ineligible to play the Colts' first four games of the season.
But even when Taylor is able to suit up, Graziano says he wouldn't be surprised "if his first game of the season was in a different uniform," clearly believing that the Wisconsin alum will be dealt before the NFL trade deadline on October 31.
Given the season-ending injury to Nick Chubb, Graziano thinks the Cleveland Browns "might end up being more motivated to make a deal than they want us to believe."
Jeremy Fowler agreed that the Browns make sense but doesn't believe Jonathan Taylor is going anywhere, saying he doesn't "see a team that's clamoring to give up a Day 2 pick for a running back."
The Colts will obviously have to make a decision soon and may have to accept an offer lower than the value for which they're looking. Otherwise, they run the risk of getting nothing and just letting Taylor hit free agency following the season.
