Aaron Donald believes Joe Burrow will be playing on MNF: 'I know he is a tough guy'

After re-aggravating a calf strain suffered in training camp, there’s some question as to whether or not Joe Burrow will be available for the Bengals’ Monday Night Football showdown against the Rams. But Aaron Donald expects the quarterback to play.

Burrow “tweaked” his calf in Cincinnati’s 27-24 loss to Baltimore in Week 2. He missed Thursday’s practice and has been considered “day-to-day” leading up to Monday’s game.

The quarterback’s status might be in question but Donald fully expects Burrow to be on the field.

“I expect him to play,” Donald said of Burrow, pre Pro Football Talk. “I know he is a tough guy. So my mindset is he’s going to be out there healthy and playing how he needs to play. So our job is to go through this game plan, obviously practice it, get used to it, feel comfortable with it, understand what we need to do, and then execute it come Monday.”

Burrow struggled mightily in Cincinnati’s season-opening loss to Cleveland. He completed just 14-of-31 pass attempts for 82 yards in a 24-3 defeat.

Burrow played much better in Week 2, but it still wasn’t enough to get the win. He threw for 222 yards with two touchdowns and a pick while completing 27-of-41 throws.

Following last week’s loss to Baltimore, Burrow revealed that he “tweaked” his calf.

“I’m not sure how it’s going to feel the next couple days,” Burrow said of his calf after the game, according to ESPN. “It’s pretty sore right now. No telling how it’s going to feel. So, I think we’re going to take it day by day.”

Donald’s belief that Burrow will play is quite a bit different than that of the quarterback’s teammate, Ja’Marr Chase. The receiver told reporters he doesn’t believe Burrow will be on the field for Monday Night Football.

“If I had to guess, I would say no,” Chase said when asked if Burrow would play. “But I don’t know because I’ve been telling him, ‘no.’ My answer never changed from this.”

When Burrow sustained the injury in training camp, Chase said he didn’t want Burrow to play until he was at full strength.

“I told him, in all honesty, I don’t want him there,” Chase told NFL Network in August, per Pro Football Talk. “I sat out an extra game just to let my hip heal all the way up. You don’t want to cause problems later in the season. As long as you’re there after Week Five and on, we’re good, brother.”

Cincinnati is still searching for its first win in 2023.