A wrist injury has kept Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow out of the season.
Surgery is necessary for the Cincinnati pivot’s torn ligament after he left Thursday’s defeat.
The Cincinnati Bengals announced on Friday that quarterback Joe Burrow will miss the remainder of the season because of a torn ligament in his right wrist.
Both Burrow and coach Zac Taylor predicted surgery would be necessary for the injury. Burrow left the game in the second quarter of the Bengals’ 34-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night, after he had given the team a brief 10-7 lead with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Joe Mixon. After the pass, Burrow crumpled into a ball of pain and gripped his wrist.
He stated on Friday that the injury most likely occurred during the previous play, when he was hit by Jadeveon Clowney after tossing a 9-yard pass to Mixon and came down on his wrist. Burrow said that until he watched a video of the play, he was unaware that he had landed on his wrist.
“In the midst of the throw, I heard a pop. I gave it a shot but was unable to finish, so I received the news today. Before we received the official word on the outcome, I had a feeling,” admitted Burrow, who was out of the game after going 11 of 17 for 101 yards and a touchdown.
The NFL announced that it would look into Burrow’s exclusion from the team’s pregame injury report. Burrow insisted that his injury occurred on that hit, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press under condition of anonymity because the review was not being made public.
Before the game, Burrow appeared to be wearing a soft cast, but the star quarterback claimed he was simply wearing a compression sleeve—something he had previously worn on flights. The Bengals had uploaded and then removed a video of the incident from their social media accounts.
Burrow attempted practice throws on the sidelines after the game, but the ball slipped out of his hand as he flinched in agony. Then, with a frustrated expression, Burrow headed to the locker room.
In his four years in the NFL, Burrow has experienced season-ending injuries twice. The most recent occurrence occurred in Week 11. In 2020, he suffered an ACL and MCL tear in his left knee during a match against Washington. The following year, he returned and guided Cincinnati to its first Super Bowl berth since 1988.
“This is nothing new; I’ve experienced similar things in the past. As previously mentioned, this kind of thing happens in football. Simply learn to accept it,” Burrow remarked.
Taylor also didn’t seem to be worried about Burrow’s ability to recover.
“His programming is distinct. For that reason, we’re lucky to have him. Because he can overcome obstacles and plays with a chip on his shoulder, that’s why he’s accomplished everything in his lifetime, according to Taylor.
With the announcement on Friday, Burrow’s injury-plagued season comes to an end. Prior to the start of the regular season, Burrow inked a five-year contract extension worth $275 million US. The average salary of $55 million per season set a record for an NFL player.
On the second day of training camp, he sustained a calf injury that kept him out of the preseason. He made a comeback in time for the regular season to begin, but the Bengals lost three of their opening four games due to his struggles. During that time, Burrow had a below-average passer rating of 69.1 and threw two touchdowns and two interceptions.
After that, Burrow and the Bengals appeared to have turned the corner as they won four straight games, including games against Buffalo and San Francisco. In Week 8, he led the team to a 31-17 victory over the 49ers with three touchdown passes and a 134.8 passer rating. Two weeks later, in a prime-time game against the Bills, he recorded a career-high 348 yards and two touchdown passes.
The Bengals, on the other hand, have lost their last two games and are now 5-5. Jake Browning, the backup, will probably start going forward. Veteran AJ McCarron is another player on the team.
Late in the fourth quarter, Browning threw a touchdown and completed 8 of 14 passes for 68 yards. Before being promoted to Burrow’s backup this season, he was a member of the Bengals practice squad for the previous two seasons.
Browning attended the University of Washington but was not selected in the draft. He was a member of Minnesota’s practice squad in 2019 and possibly in 2020.
“Having confidence is a major battle when it comes to playing quarterback. You have to work for it.” It involves more than simply putting on a brave front and trying to fool everyone into believing you are an expert in your field, according to Taylor. Jake has demonstrated by his deeds. I believe that guys hold Jake in high regard and value the effort he puts forth. To make sure he’s ready, I can’t say enough about the kinds of questions he has asked in the meetings.
