An apparent right wrist sprain ended Joe Burrow‘s night on Thursday and has the Cincinnati Bengals collectively holding their breath for what’s next.
Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor told reporters following his team’s 34-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens that Burrow suffered the sprain during the game, and he was not aware of any previous injury.
“Seems like he’s sprained his wrist,” commented Taylor. “He must have fallen on it early in the match and experienced the pain during the touchdown pass.”
The Prime Video broadcast displayed footage of Burrow entering the stadium before Thursday’s game, wearing a brace on his right hand/wrist. Nevertheless, Burrow was not listed on the Bengals’ injury report for the week.
Taylor stated that he did not have prior knowledge of Burrow’s wrist injury before Thursday night.
Tom Pelissero, NFL Network Insider, reported on Friday that the league is investigating why Burrow was not included in the injury report, a standard procedure in situations concerning compliance with the injury report policy.
The Bengals QB left his team’s Week 11 tilt in the second quarter after a 4-yard touchdown throw to Joe Mixon and was ruled out to start the second half. Burrow returned to the sideline in the second half, but was wearing a beanie rather than a helmet. On the follow-through of his TD pass, Burrow bent over in clear discomfort. After trying to throw again on the sideline, Burrow was in visible pain and left to the locker room.
Burrow was replaced by backup Jake Browning, who finished the game 8-of-14 passing for 68 yards with a touchdown. Prior to his departure, Burrow was 11 of 17 for 101 yards, the TD and no interceptions.
Burrow dealt with a calf strain earlier this year that kept him out of the preseason and obviously hampered his play in the early going. However, Burrow and the Bengals rebounded as his calf seemed to heal up, putting together a four-game winning streak prior to a Week 10 loss to the Houston Texans. Now, there’s another ailment to be concerned about.
