Joe Burrow’s season is over.
An MRI showed the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback suffered a torn ligament in his right wrist in Thursday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The team termed the issue an acute injury that likely occurred in the second quarter. On the next play, Burrow threw a 4-yard touchdown pass in what will likely be his final throw of 2023.
“It’s tough,” Burrow said Friday afternoon. “You work so hard for seasons and moments like these. Whenever you get hurt and it ends early, it’s tough to handle. That’s a part of the game.”
Burrow said he landed on the wrist after he was hit by Ravens defensive end Jadeveon Clowney on a 9-yard play in Baltimore’s red zone. On the next play, Burrow went down in pain after firing the touchdown pass to Mixon.
“I felt a pop in the middle of the throw,” said Burrow. “I tried to give it a go but couldn’t get it done.”
After he initially suspected it was a severe injury, he received confirmation when the news was delivered to him Friday morning. Jake Browning, the team’s backup quarterback who finished the game in Burrow’s absence, will now be the starter for the foreseeable future.
On Friday, Bengals coach Zac Taylor said the initial information shows that players who suffer this type of injury are able to make a full recovery. However, Taylor did not have an immediate timeline on when Burrow will have surgery or when he could return. Both Taylor and Burrow said they are still gathering more information about the injury.
This is the second time Burrow has suffered a season-ending injury in his four-year career. The top overall pick in the 2020 draft saw his rookie year cut short when he suffered multiple torn ligaments in his left knee in a Week 11 loss to Washington.
Taylor said it was unfortunate to see a player such as Burrow, who works especially hard to make sure he’s as healthy as possible to be on the field, have another season end prematurely.
“It kills you to watch somebody have to go through this, you know, several times now,” Taylor said.
On Wednesday, photos and video surfaced of Burrow wearing something on his right wrist ahead of the game against Baltimore. One of those was posted by the team on social media and promptly deleted.
Burrow said it was a compression sleeve, something that he has worn in the past as he deals with minor issues over the course of the season.
“It’s not uncommon for guys to wear a compression sleeve on a plane because when you go up to that altitude, things can swell up,” Burrow said Friday. “Football, you have a lot of bumps and bruises. This is a completely new injury.”
However, the NFL is investigating why Burrow was not listed on the team’s injury report leading up to Thursday’s game, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Taylor said he had not spoken to the league regarding the issue.