In a painful turn for the Cincinnati Bengals, star quarterback Joe Burrow is believed to have sustained a sprained right wrist during Thursday’s 34-20 defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor addressed the concerning situation in his postgame remarks, as reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The pivotal moment occurred in the second quarter when Burrow, after a short touchdown throw to Joe Mixon, clutched his right hand in apparent discomfort. Following this, he was ushered into the medical tent and subsequently escorted to the locker room after displaying difficulty throwing a football on the sidelines.
Burrow, who witnessed the second half from the sidelines, managed to accumulate 101 passing yards with one touchdown before succumbing to the injury. The unexpected exit thrust Jake Browning into action as Burrow’s replacement. Browning, with only one career pass attempt prior to Thursday, completed eight passes on 14 attempts for 68 yards, registering one touchdown without any interceptions.
Remarkably, Burrow’s wrist had already stirred speculation before the Ravens matchup, with the Bengals sharing a video on Wednesday depicting the quarterback wearing a brace on his throwing hand. The post was subsequently deleted, and Coach Taylor expressed surprise when questioned about it, stating it was the first he’d heard of the situation.
Taylor also asserted that he was unaware of any pre-existing injury concerns regarding Burrow leading up to the game, as confirmed by ESPN’s Ben Baby. Intriguingly, Burrow had not appeared on the injury report ahead of the prime-time contest against the Ravens, maintaining a clean bill of health since recovering from a calf injury earlier in the season.
The loss to the Ravens dealt a blow to the Bengals, dropping their record to 5-5 for the campaign. With consecutive losses, Cincinnati now braces for a pivotal matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers in their upcoming game, hoping to reverse their recent slide and regain momentum in the competitive AFC North.
