Joe Burrow has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn ligament in his right wrist. Burrow would exit Thursday night's loss to the Ravens in the second quarter and was officially ruled out by halftime. It's not Burrow's first injury of the season, as he spent the first weeks of the season battling a nagging calf injury. Furthermore, the Bengals faced heavy criticism for trying to play Burrow through his injury despite his evident discomfort.
With Burrow out, the Bengals will likely turn to Jake Browning as the full-time starter. Browning threw for 68 yards on 8-for-14 passing against the Ravens. The former Washington Husky went undrafted in 2019 and spent two years on the Vikings' practice squad before joining the Bengals in 2021. It's unclear if the Bengals will look to sign another quarterback, given that Browning is now the only healthy signal-caller on the team. The Bengals are currently 5-5 during what is very much a down season for them.
NFL Investigating Burrow Injury Situation
The NFL has reportedly opened an investigation into why Joe Burrow was not listed on the Bengals' injury report despite being visibly injured prior to the game. Burrow was seen exiting the team bus with a soft cast on his throwing hand. Furthermore, According to head coach Zac Taylor, the injury has been confirmed as a sprained wrist. However, he denied any knowledge of the injury prior to the game. "That was the first I saw anything about it," Taylor said of the mid-game evaluation.
Injury report compliance is something taken very seriously by the NFL. Teams are required to report any injuries, even if the player takes the field. In 2019, the Steelers were fined $75,000 and coach Mike Tomlin was fined a further $25,000 for injury report discrepancies surrounding the status of Ben Roethlisberger in Week 2. Severe enough discrepancies could result in punishments such as the loss of draft picks. However, this is a developing story and we'll have any updates as and when they emerge.
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