Joe Burrow's tumultuous 2023 season has come to a premature end.
The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback will miss the remainder of the 2023 campaign after suffering a torn ligament in his right wrist, head coach Zac Taylor announced on Friday. An MRI confirmed the injury, which will likely require surgery, per Taylor.
Burrow suffered the injury in the first half of Thursday night's loss to the Baltimore Ravens, leaving the contest after throwing a touchdown pass to running back Joe Mixon to give Cincinnati a 10-7 lead. He attempted to test the injury by throwing on the sideline, but was visibly frustrated when he realized he couldn't throw without pain.
"The play before it happened, I landed on the wrist a little bit, and the next play, the touchdown pass, just felt a pop in the middle of the throw," Burrow said on Friday. "Tried to give it a go but just couldn't get it done, and obviously got the news today, so not great."
Burrow also said that the injury ending his season had nothing to do with what was thought to be a brace on his right wrist ahead of Thursday night's game.
"It's not uncommon for guys to wear compression sleeves on a plane because when you go up to that altitude things can swell up," Burrow said. "In football you have a lot of bumps and bruises. This is a completely new injury."
NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported on Friday that the NFL is looking into why Burrow wasn't on the injury report, which is routine in instances involving compliance with the league's injury report policy.
Burrow's injury brings an early finish to a season that began in similar fashion. Burrow labored through an injured calf, which limited his athletic abilities and he struggled accordingly amid a 1-3 start to the season. Burrow returned to form in Week 5, dominating the Arizona Cardinals in a fashion that was very familiar to those who have come to enjoy watching him play in the NFL.
Everything seemed to be pointing toward a second-half surge for the Bengals, who clawed their way back to 5-4 with four straight wins prior to their Week 10 loss to Houston. Then, just as Cincinnati was attempting to defeat the Ravens and climb into a tightly packed AFC North race, Burrow's season suddenly ended.
Burrow exits the 2023 season with a line that doesn't quite live up to his standard of play: 244 of 365, 2,309 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. It's deserving of an asterisk, though, considering the injuries he dealt with during the campaign.
Jake Browning remains as Cincinnati's best option going forward.
The Bengals' backup QB completed 8 of 14 passes for 68 yards and an inconsequential touchdown to Ja'Marr Chase in the final two minutes of a double-digit loss. The former University of Washington standout has appeared in just two games in his NFL career, but will be tasked with carrying the Bengals (5-5) through the end of the season.
"It's tough to see your starting quarterback who's as good as Joe Burrow go down," Taylor said Friday. "But I'm proud of the way the guys responded, and proud of the way they've carried themselves today, obviously this longer weekend comes at a good time for us, it's a chance to regroup and get healthy and come back next week and get ready to attack Pittsburgh. And so I've really liked what I've seen from these guys, again we've got a lot of talent on this roster, and this season's far from over."
The timing couldn't be worse for the Bengals, of course, undercutting a season that had just returning to promising territory, and coming on the heels of Burrrow signing the largest contract extension ($275 million guaranteed) in NFL history. He'll spend the next few months or so rehabbing and watching his Bengals teammates attempt to stay afloat without him.
