Burrow, Rodgers form bond over shared calf injury histories - ESPN

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers have built a connection on a shared experience.

Calf injuries.

On Tuesday, Rodgers revealed on «The Pat McAfee Show» that he reached out to Burrow after the Bengals' quarterback played through a right calf injury in the team's 19-16 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

Burrow said the two connected last week as he wanted to use Rodgers as a resource given his own injury history.

«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, who added that he considered what Rodgers said. «He's been through it, done that. And he was great about it.»

Cincinnati held a walk-through on Wednesday following its game against the Rams on «Monday Night Football.» Burrow, who aggravated the pre-existing calf injury during the Week 2 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, cleared a workout the morning of the game that gave him and the team confidence he could play on the calf. That night, Burrow threw 49 passes and helped the Bengals secure their first win of the season.

In his interview with McAfee, Rodgers praised Burrow's toughness and described the difficulty of playing with the calf injury.

«For him to tough it out, I don't that people realize how much pain and limited mobility he was in,» Rodgers said. «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.»

Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said Burrow was straightforward about how he felt and what he was comfortable doing in the primetime game against the Rams. But