Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will miss the remainder of the season due to a wrist injury, head coach Zac Taylor announced Friday.
Taylor said Burrow likely will need surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist.
An MRI on Friday morning revealed the severity of the injury for Burrow, hours after he exited the Bengals’ 34-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the second quarter. Burrow bent over in obvious pain after throwing a 4-yard touchdown to Joe Mixon with 5:49 remaining.
Burrow said he felt a pop in his wrist on the TD pass but was in discomfort before that play.
He said “everything that I’ve seen so far is that surgery is going to be needed.” He plans to discuss options.
The NFL is investigating the team’s reporting of Burrow’s injury status going into the game.
Burrow said on Friday he wore a compression sleeve on his wrist but was not injured until Thursday night.
“This is a completely different thing,” he said. “It’s not uncommon for guys to wear compression sleeves on the plane. When you go up to that altitude, things can swell up. This is a completely new injury.”
Burrow said he sees a lot of himself in backup Jake Browning. They are good friends, and Burrow spent part of his Friday afternoon watching film with Browning to help begin preparing him to start next week.
“No moment is too big for him. He’s a guy that’s going to continue to get better,” Burrow said.
Taylor informed the full team in a meeting on Friday.
“Disappointed for Joe,” Taylor said. “You’re around this guy every single day. You see what he puts himself through to prepare himself. To make sure he’s at his best. The players, the coaches, the organization as a whole weighs heavy on the quarterbacks.
“I told him he’s going to have a long career, this is one of the many parts of adversity you’re going to go through in your career. I think this team will respond the right way.”
Cincinnati (5-5) will look to respond against the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 26, presumably with Jake Browning under center. Browning took over for Burrow and completed 8 of 14 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown on Thursday.
Taylor said he isn’t worried about the injury toll and whether it is compounding for the 26-year-old Burrow.
“If he was a normal human being, you’d worried about. He’s not,” Taylor said. “He’s just built a little bit different. That’s why I’ve got confidence he’ll respond from this the right way, the right time. That’s just part of how Joe’s built.”
Before exiting, Burrow was 11-for-17 for 101 yards and the touchdown to Mixon.
Burrow has compiled the lowest passer rating since his rookie year in 2020. He has completed 244 of 365 passes (66.8 percent) for 2,309 yards and 15 touchdowns with six interceptions.
–Field Level Media