The Cincinnati Bengals are in some serious trouble at the moment. According to a recent announcement by HC Zac Taylor, star QB Joe Burrow will be missing the rest of the season due to a torn ligament. This news has surely jolted the Bengals’ campaign to a great extent. The team is currently sitting at 4th on the AFC North table with a 5-5 record.

Much of the team’s success can be attributed to the excellent display of Joe Burrow throughout the season. The QB has run 2309 yards with an astounding 15 touchdowns so far. With Bengals aiming to clinch the title this season, Burrow’s absence would surely be a significant hole they need to fill. This announcement comes after the Bengals were put on the spot for hiding Joe Burrow’s wrist injury. 

Joe Burrow ruled out; Bengals in dire straits

Cincinnati Bengals were hoping for things to become right before anyone could notice. That’s the only plausible reason as to why they did not list Burrow as an injured player. The QB allegedly suffered a sprained wrist in their match against the Baltimore Ravens recently. However, in a bizarre turn of events, the team initially posted a video of Burrow in a cast and then deleted the same. 

This anomaly was picked up by the NFL and had them intervening in the matter. Now, with Burrow out of the entire season, the onus will be on Jake Browning to see the team through. 

More bad news for the Bengals

The league has launched an investigation over a possible protocol breach by the Bengals. The protocol stops a team from hiding an injured player from the injury report or manipulating it altogether, which looks to be the case with Burrow. If guilty, the Bengals could be fined a big amount, or even lose a draft pick for 2024.

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The NFL takes the injuries on a very serious note, at least on paper. And their upcoming opponents could confirm that, as the league fined the Steelers $75,000 in 2019 for hiding QB from the injury report. The Steelers now will have two consecutive games where they will be fighting two back-to-back backup QBs, as the Browns are also missing DeShaun Watson for the rest of the season for multiple injuries.

The added confidence from the potentially easy Browns matchup can give the Steelers an extra push over the Bengals, which would be a further blow for them. Jake Browning may be a dependable name and can handle cover-up for Burrow’s absence to a certain extent, but losing the league’s most expensive player is pretty much the end of this consecutive playoff hopes for the 5-5 side.

What are your thoughts on the Burrow situation? Did the Bengals do the right thing by hiding Burrow’s injury? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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