The Cincinnati Bengals will face the Houston Texans on the road after starting the season with a 33-27 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While the Bengals have yet to release their injury report ahead of the Week 2 matchup, quarterback Joe Burrow is now on injury watch following reports about his limited participation in practice on Wednesday.
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“Joe Burrow opened practice in a very limited capacity. Not really throwing. Seems off,” FOX reporter Jeremy Rauch reported on Wednesday. “Also appears to have some sort of brace on his throwing shoulder.”
As that happened, CBS’ Yanni Tragellis shared a clip of Burrow walking with a brace/tape on his shoulder area during practice. The concern around the quarterback gained traction after Burrow took a hit on his shoulder during the Week 1 matchup against the Buccaneers.
In the first half, Burrow broke the pocket on a scramble, as he picked up a 12-yard first down. However, as he went into his slide, the Buccaneers safety Tykee Smith made contact with Burrow’s shoulder area, resulting in a 15-yard personal foul for a late hit on a sliding quarterback.
Subsequently, Cincinnati had a first-and-goal at the 4-yard line. Burrow, meanwhile, stayed in the game and completed 25-of-35 passes for 254 yards, one touchdown, and one interception to open the season on a positive note. Now, it remains to be seen whether Burrow is dealing with any shoulder issue heading into the Week 2 matchup.
However, once a clip of Burrow wearing a brace near his shoulder area gained traction, it raised major concerns among fans.
“He did take a big hit to that shoulder on Sunday. Hope it’s just precautionary,” one fan wrote, while another added, “Maybe he woke up with a stiff neck? Moving his arm ok.”
“I knew that sideline hit was something. Dammit,” another fan wrote. Meanwhile, fans also questioned whether scrambling was a good idea for Burrow, as one person wrote, “Yeah shoulder charging someone with your throwing arm during that scramble probably wasn’t a good idea.”
Amid the major concern surrounding Burrow, head coach Zac Taylor addressed the quarterback’s hit and praised him for using his legs during Wednesday’s practice.
“That’s what he’s proven to us: he’s willing to use his legs to get us everything we can and put us in a great scoring position with a quarterback draw at the end of the half, that’s the weapon he’s got,” the head coach said. “I’m not gonna second-guess every decision he makes. That’s easy to do, but he understands the moments. When he needs to do it, when he needs to get down, when he needs to fight for that extra yardage, and that was the situation where he did that.”
For now, the Bengals will have to wait for more clarity on Burrow’s shoulder before facing Houston. While his brace has sparked concern, there is no confirmed diagnosis or indication yet that he will miss Week 2. Burrow’s upcoming media session following the practice should provide a clearer picture of the quarterback’s status.