Getty Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow at Paycor Stadium on November 05, 2023.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was injured during the Thursday night game against the Baltimore Ravens, being sent to the locker room late in the second quarter after he appeared unable to grip the football.
Burrow was seen working out on the sidelines late in the second quarter of the November 16 game, wincing in pain as he unsuccessfully tried to throw a pass. He jogged to the locker room soon afterward, with backup Jake Browning preparing to enter the game.
Wow, Joe Burrow can’t grip the ball.
You can see him yell in frustration. He is heading to the locker room.
As the NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reported soon afterward, Burrow was listed as questionable to return.
“#Bengals QB Joe Burrow, after appearing to injure his right hand, shook his head after trying to throw on the sideline and now is jogging to the locker room,” Pelissero wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
New Injury for Joe Burrow
Burrow’s injury forced the inexperienced Browning into action against one of the league’s top defenses. The 27-year-old appeared in only one game during his career, attempting one pass in the team’s 24-3 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Cincinnati’s season opener on September 10.
Burrow had already fought through injury once this season, injuring his calf during training camp and not returning to practice until the end of August. As Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk noted, Burrow re-aggravated the injury in a September 17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
“Burrow was seen using a massage gun on the calf during Sunday’s 27-24 loss to the Ravens and he was limping after throwing a touchdown pass to Tee Higgins in the fourth quarter,” Alper wrote.
“After the game, Burrow said he tweaked the calf during the game. The quarterback said he would see how it feels on Monday and there will be a lot of other interested parties as the Bengals move toward a Monday night game against the Rams.”
Bengals Had Raised Concern on Joe Burrow
The Bengals had already stirred some concern ahead of Thursday’s game, sharing an image that appeared to show some kind of precaution being taken with Burrow’s right hand. As Chris Roling of USA Today’s Bengals Wire noted, the image picture drew a strong reaction from Bengals fans.
“Cincinnati Bengals fans seemed to have a collective panic attack on Wednesday night before the team’s Thursday night game against the Baltimore Ravens,” Roling wrote. “There, Bengals fans noticed something strange in a picture featuring Joe Burrow and teammates getting off the plane in Baltimore — Burrow had something on his throwing hand.”
The @PrimeVideo broadcast showed this video of #Bengals QB Joe Burrow getting off the team bus with a brace/wrap around his right wrist and thumb.
Burrow wasn’t on the injury report. Now he’s questionable with a right wrist injury. Jake Browning is in.
Roling added that it was impossible to determine what was actually on Burrow’s hand, and noted that the Bengals had not put him on the injury report during the week. Burrow also seemed to be throwing without pain or impediment during practice, Roling wrote.
“This could be a precautionary thing, an actual serious injury thing or even something as innocent as a fashion choice or one of those gloves that helps the user more easily navigate tablet usage,” Roling wrote.
Burrow’s injury could be a major concern for the Bengals, who entered Thursday’s game at 5-4 and hovering around the edge of the playoff picture in the crowded AFC.