The Cincinnati Bengals had already felt the effects of one Joe Burrow injury earlier this year, and now they’ll be without their franchise quarterback for the duration of the 2023 campaign.
Burrow suffered a torn ligament in his wrist in the Bengals’ Thursday night loss to the Baltimore Ravens and will miss the remainder of the season, as head coach Zac Taylor announced on Friday.
Joe Burrow Injury Update
Taylor said Burrow was likely injured on his second-to-last snap of last night’s game, when he was taken to the ground by Ravens pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney. Burrow completed a touchdown pass to running back Joe Mixon on the next play but grimaced in pain before being examined in the medical tent on Cincinnati’s sideline.
The 26-year-old was eventually ruled out of Thursday’s game. Jake Browning, who will now become the Bengals’ starting quarterback for their final seven games, completed eight of 14 attempts for 68 yards, hitting Ja’Marr Chase for a touchdown during garbage time of Cincinnati’s 34-20 defeat.
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Taylor said Burrow’s injury is entirely unrelated to the item he was wearing in footage posted — and then deleted — by the Bengals’ social media staff on Wednesday. ESPN reported Friday that the NFL was investigating why Burrow had not been listed on Cincinnati’s injury report this week.
Burrow himself said he was wearing a compression sleeve that he routinely uses on flights to prevent swelling at altitude, confirming it was not related to the injury he suffered on TNF.
Burrow, whom the Bengals made the highest-paid player in NFL history when they signed him to a five-year, $275.5 million extension the day before the regular season began, suffered a calf strain near the beginning of training camp. That injury lingered and hampered Burrow over the first four games of the year while Cincinnati limped to a 1-3 start.
But Burrow rebounded against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5, throwing three touchdowns to kickstart what looked like a promising rest-of-season performance. From Weeks 5 through 10, Burrow completed 74% of his passes for 12 touchdowns, four interceptions, and 7.82 adjusted yards per attempt while ranking fifth in passing success rate and sixth in EPA per play.
The Bengals likely would have had a difficult time earning a playoff berth this season even if Burrow had been able to return next week. Cincinnati is now 5-5; the club’s hopes of winning the AFC North for a third straight year had already dwindled, leaving them to target a potential Wild Card appearance.
But even that seems daunting for the Bengals, both because of the crowded nature of the AFC playoff race and because Browning is a virtual unknown. A 2019 undrafted free agent who spent time with the Minnesota Vikings before joining Cincinnati’s practice squad in 2021, Browning had attempted one NFL pass before Thursday night.
Injury issues have devastated the AFC North this week. Burrow and Ravens tight end Mark Andrews were lost for the year on Thursday, while Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a shoulder injury.