ESPN’s Ben Baby and Adam Schefter and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
November 17, 2023 – Cincinnati, OH
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will not play again this season after suffering a torn ligament in his right wrist, coach Zac Taylor announced Friday.
Burrow was injured during the Bengals’ 34-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday. He said Friday that he felt a pop in the second quarter, when he left the game before being ruled out shortly after halftime.
“I was just going to tape it up and give it a shot,” Burrow said. “I just couldn’t.”
Taylor said Burrow likely will need surgery to repair the torn ligament.
With Burrow out, the Bengals will turn to backup quarterback Jake Browning, who was 8-for-14 passing for 68 yards and a touchdown against the Ravens in his first significant NFL action.
“This season is far from over,” Taylor said of the 5-5 Bengals.
Burrow is the second AFC North franchise quarterback to be ruled out for the season in the past three days. Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson also will not play again in 2023 after suffering a fracture in his throwing shoulder Sunday — an injury that also occurred while playing the Ravens.
The NFL is investigating the Bengals’ reporting of Burrow’s injury status in the lead-up to Thursday’s game. The Bengals had posted a video on X on Wednesday night of Burrow getting off the team bus wearing what appeared to be a soft cast on his right hand. They later deleted the post.
The league routinely looks into matters of compliance with its injury report policy, and violations could result in team fines or lost draft picks. The NFL had warned teams at the spring owners meetings that they were required to list all injuries.
Browning, an undrafted free agent out of Washington in 2019, had been on Cincinnati’s practice squad from 2021 until this season, when he won the backup job over Trevor Siemian in training camp. His only pass in a regular-season game before Thursday was an incompletion late in the Bengals’ 24-3 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 this season.
Browning will make his first career start Nov. 26 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Bengals, who had 12-1 odds to win the Super Bowl before Thursday’s game, are listed at 150-1 at ESPN BET as of Friday afternoon.
This is the second time in Burrow’s four-year NFL career that he has suffered a season-ending injury in Week 11. He tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee during a game against Washington in 2020.