What We Know About the Bengals’ QB Weeks Later

As much as fans and coaches may implore their teams to roll with the punches, some injuries are simply season-changing events. Joe Burrow’s wrist injury looks like one of those.

As you probably remember, the signal-caller didn’t finish Week 11’s Thursday night contest against the Baltimore Ravens. Cincy understandably lost that night, and then fell the following week against the Steelers.

But now, more than two weeks have passed and the Bengals are returning to the spotlight on Monday Night Football. With that in mind, let’s break Burrow’s injury-related absence down.

What Happened to Joe Burrow?

Ahead of the Bengals’ November 16 date with the Ravens, sharp-eyed social media users noticed that Burrow appeared to have some extra protection around his wrist. Whether there was anything to that observation or not, the quarterback wouldn’t finish the contest in question.

When asked about it, Burrow said it was a “completely different thing.”

“It’s not uncommon for guys to wear compression sleeves on a plane because when you go up to the altitude, things can swell up,” Burrow said. “Football, you have a lot of bumps and bruises. This is a completely new injury.”

In the first half of the game, Burrow left the field in apparent pain. Cameras on the sideline captured him attempting to grasp a ball and struggling to do so before he headed down the tunnel. He wouldn’t return.

“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 the following day. “Tried to give it a go but just couldn’t get it done, and obviously got the news today, so not great.”

The news that the quarterback alluded to was that his campaign had come to an early end. He was diagnosed with a torn ligament in his wrist and required season-ending surgery.

What’s the Latest Update on Burrow?

When we learned that the QB’s season was over, the Bengals said that Burrow would need surgery. Since then, he has gone under the knife.

On Monday, November 27, the club confirmed that “Joe Burrow underwent successful surgery on his wrist today. The procedure went as planned and he is expected to make a complete recovery. Joe will return to Cincinnati this week to be with the team and begin the recovery and rehab process.”

And while there haven’t been any official updates beyond that, the quarterback was seen at UFC Fight Night in Texas sporting a sizable bandage around his wrist and arm.

And while being able to attend other sporting events may seem like fun, Burrow isn’t exactly thrilled with being sidelined. On Monday, he took to Instagram ahead of the Bengals’ date with the Jaguars to note that “playing football is way more fun than watching.”

Is Burrow Injury Prone?

In the world of sports, “injury prone” is a dirty phrase. No player wants to pick up that label, and both fans and organizations can be hesitant to hitch their wagon to an athlete who’s unable to stay healthy.

Burrow, whether it’s fair or not, is entering that conversation. In four professional seasons, he’s now suffered three notable injuries: a torn ACL and MCL, a calf strain and a torn wrist ligament.

On one hand (pun not intended) you could argue that those injuries are representative of bad luck more than anything else. It would be one thing if Burrow continued to have lower body issues around his knee surgery, but that isn’t the case. His calf issue was in his right leg, while the ACL/MCL damage was within his left leg.

With that being said, though, injuries are injuries. And, at a certain point, bad luck becomes a trend.

Burrow’s Contract Provides Some Serious Security

If there’s a silver lining for Burrow, though, it’s that he does have some security.

Ahead of the 2023 season, the quarterback inked a sizable extension, worth $275 million over five years. And while we’ve all learned that NFL deals don’t offer the same injury protections as other sports contracts, top-notch players do have enough clout to mitigate that concern.

Of Burrow’s $275 million in salary, $146.5 million of it was guaranteed upon putting pen to paper. Beyond that, there’s around $70 million more in guarantees due to the QB; just over $219 million is his, no matter what happens.

Can money buy happiness, especially if an athlete’s promising career (hypothetically) falls off? Maybe not, but it’s still better to have cash on hand than to be left wanting.

Where Do the Bengals Sit Without Their Starting QB?

As noted in the opening lines of this piece, every team will strive for a “next man up” philosophy in the face of an injury. The Bengals, though, are staring down a pretty rough situation.

With Burrow sidelined, Jake Browning has found himself under center. He’s appeared in three games with the Bengals, the first three of his NFL career, and hasn’t exactly set the league on fire. In those appearances, which include one start, he’s completed 27 of 41 passes for 295 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

The challenges, however, don’t end there. The Bengals are behind the eight ball, sitting on a 5-6 record. That leaves them on the outside of the postseason picture.

But wait, you may be saying, the playoffs aren’t that far away. The seventh spot in the AFC is currently held by the 6-6 Cleveland Browns, who are also without their starting quarterback. Surely there’s room to move up, right?

Well, there’s another complicating factor. Cincy has the fifth-toughest schedule remaining when ranked by opposition winning percentage. The Bengals face the Jaguars, Chiefs, Browns, Steelers, Vikings and Colts before the campaign ends. While that might not be a murderer’s row—the Chiefs haven’t looked like themselves, and the Vikings, Browns and Steelers are all missing their starting quarterbacks— it’s still a tough ask for someone with three career NFL appearances to lead his team on a winning streak to claim a playoff berth.

And if you prefer a numerical representation of the challenge, NY Times’ Upshot currently gives Cincy a 2 percent chance of making the postseason.

With a healthy Burrow, things could be quite different. And as long as the Bengals have him back to his best in 2024, this could very well be a one-season blip.