Joe Burrow Out for Season as NFL Investigates Bengals for Leaving Him Off Injury Report

Thursday left Thursday’s game against the Ravens early after tearing a ligament in his wrist, coach Zac Taylor said

Joe Burrow is out for the rest of the NFL season.

On Friday, the Cincinnati Bengals announced that the quarterback is out for the rest of the 2023-24 season. due to a wrist injury he suffered during Thursday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.

News of the injury also prompted an NFL investigation into the Bengals, according to reports, and follows Burrow’s early exit from Thursday’s game when he clutched his wrist in pain after a second-quarter touchdown. The QB, 26, continued to warm up on the sideline but ultimately did not return to the field.

Coach Zac Taylor held a press conference Friday to announce Burrow’s early season ending after an “acute injury” he suffered “probably in the penultimate game.” As Taylor explained, Burrow tore a ligament in his wrist that will “probably require surgery and keep him out for the rest of the season.”

“[He’s] obviously very disappointed because he loves leading this team and knows the opportunities ahead,” Taylor told reporters. “But again, he’s responding in a positive way. You can only control what you can control. And his next step for us is to continue to lead this team, just in a different way.”

The team is now looking at running back Jake Browning, who saw action Thursday during the Bengals’ 34-20 loss to Baltimore.

The press conference comes two days after the Bengals organization released a video of Burrow exiting the team bus with an apparent cast on his hand, according to ESPN. And now the media is reporting that the NFL will investigate why Burrow was not listed on the Bengals’ pregame injury report, per league rules.

While Burrow’s injury became clear after he struggled on a 4-yard touchdown pass to Joe Mixon during the last game, a video shared by the Bengals organization showed they were aware of his wrist issues before the game. The footage has since been removed from social media, as WCPO re-shared the footage on X (formerly Twitter), zooming in and slowing it down to show Burrow with something on his hand.

In fact, Burrow was not wearing a cast on his arm when he arrived at the game on Thursday.

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The Athletic‘with Dianna Russini also reported, citing sources, that the NFL is investigating why Burrow was not on the injury report. “The investigation begins today,” Xu wrote. “They will look at photos, practice video and talk to people from the organization to decide if something was done wrong.”

A league spokesperson did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Friday.

During a press conference on Friday, Taylor told reporters that she didn’t know what Burrow was wearing and that it was “completely unrelated to what this is.”

“A lot of our guys wear different compression things on the plane, but again it’s something that he did… I don’t know exactly what it was, but completely unrelated to what it is.”

Joe Burrow tackles during Thursday’s game against the Ravens.

Patrick Smith/Getty

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Taylor previously told reporters after Thursday’s game that he believed the QB sprained his right wrist while in action that night, and that he was unaware of the issue with his wrist before the game. “That was the first time I saw anything about it,” Taylor said after the game, according to ESPN.

Former players have also spoken out about the reported investigation, with former Giants OL Geoff Schwartz writing on X that “everyone gets beat up this time of the season.”

“If you’ve done all the reps for practice and started the game, you’re not injured,” he wrote.

As for Burrow’s teammates, wide receiver Tyler Boyd told ESPN and other reporters in the locker room after Thursday’s game that the team wants to “rally” behind quarterback Jake Browning. “Joe gives us the best chance to win football games, but moving forward, Jake’s got us and we’ve got to rally around him. We’ve got to rally around him and play even harder for him.”

Browning told reporters at Thursday’s postgame news conference that he has “a lot of confidence” in himself. “That’s why I have a job. If Joe goes down, I come in and just try to win.”

The Bengals next play at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers on November 26.

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Source: HIS Education