The air was sucked out of the complex last Thursday when Joe Burrow came up limping on a routine practice play during the second day of training camp last Thursday.
Burrow broke free of the pocket on a scramble to his right, then, all alone, started hobbling and worked his way off the practice field. Immediately after, he sat with trainers and then was carted off the field as a precautionary measure.
The immediate sounds you might have heard were Ohio sportsbooks doing new calculations.
The news, it turned out, was not devastating.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said last Friday that Burrow is expected to miss “several weeks” with a calf strain, but the team expects he will return for the team’s season opener at the Cleveland Browns Sept. 10 (CBS, 1 p.m.).
Burrow's backups - Trevor Siemian and Jake Browning - have taken most of the practice reps during practice and the team has brought in two former XFL quarterbacks (Reid Sinnett, Drew Plitt) for workouts as insurance if Burrow is out any extended amount of time.
That one moment in time showed the importance of what a quarterback means as an investment to his team, city the NFL. Burrow, more than most, carries the Bengals’ playoff chances on his back.
BetOhio.com wanted to calculate which NFL quarterbacks were most cost-valuable. We utilized key QB stats (completion percentage, passing yards, passing touchdowns, rushing touchdowns) from Pro-Football-Reference.com and the 2023 cap hit rank from OverTheCap.com to establish an aggregate passing rank.
To qualify for this list, players must be the expected starter for 2023 and have started in at least 12 games in 2022.
Most Cost-Valuable Quarterbacks
Here are results you won’t find on Ohio betting apps:
Burrow Trails Only Hurts and Rodgers
Burrow ranked third in the rankings with a value aggregate rank of 6. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and newly acquired New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers tied for first with a value aggregate rank of 5.5.
No other AFC North quarterback finished in the top 10.
Last season, Burrow threw for 4,475 yards, 35 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and had a quarterback rating of 58.7 (10th in the league). The Bengals (12-4) suffered a 23-20 road loss at the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship on Jan. 29. You can check out the Bengals Super Bowl odds all season long.
BetMGM Sportsbook Future Odds for Bengals, Burrow
Here are the future odds for the Bengals and Burrow at BetMGM Ohio as of Monday.
Team
- To Make Playoffs: -375
- Over 9.5 Regular Season Wins: -300
- To Win the AFC North Division: +150 (favorite)
- To Win the AFC: +500 (third favorite)
- To Win the Super Bowl: +900 (fourth favorite)
Burrow
- AP MVP Winner: +600 (favorite; Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes second at +650)
- AP Offensive Player of the Year: +3000
You can count on BetOhio.com for coverage and analysis of the Bengals and Browns this season as well as for Ohio sportsbook promos.
