Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow out for season, likely needing surgery

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will not play this season due to 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 he felt shock in the second quarter, when he left the game before being ejected shortly after halftime.

“I was just going to record it and try,” Burrow said. “I just couldn’t.”

Taylor said Burrow will likely need surgery to repair the torn ligament.

With Burrow out, the Bengals will turn to backup quarterback Jake Browning, who completed 8 of 14 passes 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 Bengals’ 5-5 record.

Burrow is the second AFC North franchise quarterback to be ruled out of the season in the past three days. Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson also won’t play in 2023 after suffering a fractured throwing shoulder on Sunday — an injury that also occurred while he played against the Ravens.

The NFL is investigating reports from the Bengals about Burrow’s injury status ahead of Thursday’s game. The Bengals had posted video on X Wednesday night of Burrow getting off the team bus wearing what appeared to be a soft cast on his right hand. They then deleted the post.

The league regularly reviews compliance issues with its injury reporting policy, and violations could result in team fines or loss of draft picks. The NFL had warned teams during spring owners’ meetings that they were required to catalog all injuries.

Browning, an undrafted free agent from Washington in 2019, was 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 incomplete pass late in the Bengals’ 24-3 loss to the Cleveland Browns in the first week of the season.

Browning will make his first career start on November 26 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Bengals, who were 12-1 odds to win the Super Bowl heading into Thursday’s game, are listed at 150-1 on ESPN BET as of Friday afternoon.

This is the second time in Burrow’s four-year NFL career that he suffered a season-ending injury in Week 11. He tore his ACL and MCL in his knee left during a game against Washington in 2020.

Ben Baby and Adam Schefter of ESPN and the Associated Press contributed to this report.