NFL investigating Bengals’ handling of Joe Burrow injury
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) walks the sideline in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 12 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paul Brown Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. Mandatory Credit: Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
The NFL is investigating whether the Cincinnati Bengals failed to disclose Joe Burrow’s injury prior to their game against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night.
Burrow exited the Bengals’ 34-20 loss midway through the second quarter with a wrist injury. Head coach Zac Taylor said the quarterback suffered a sprain after he fell on his hand and then experienced pain when throwing a touchdown pass to Joe Mixon.
Prior to the game, a video that was posted on one of the Bengals’ social media accounts showed Burrow wearing some sort of brace on his right hand. The team deleted the video after fans began speculating that Burrow was dealing with an injury.
The problem for the Bengals is that Burrow was not listed on the injury report. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the NFL is investigating whether Cincinnati violated the league’s injury report policy.
The NFL is investigating why the Bengals did not list QB Joe Burrow on their injury report when the team posted a picture of him wearing a device on his wrist Wednesday night and he appeared to be hampered by the injury early in the Thursday night game that he later left, the… pic.twitter.com/xba8URiWri
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 17, 2023
As Schefter noted, teams have been disciplined in the past for not disclosing player injuries. The punishment could come in the form of a fine or even the loss of a draft pick.
Burrow appeared to be in significant pain before the Bengals ruled him out for the game. The injury reminded many people of a serious one another quarterback suffered during the playoffs last season, but Burrow will have an MRI to determine the full extent of his injury.