NOVEMBER 25: The Bengals announced today that they have officially placed Burrow on injured reserve. In addition to placing their newest franchise quarterback on IR, the team filled his roster spot by activating fifth-round rookie running back Chase Brown off of IR. Brown made an appearance in five games before being placed on IR with a hamstring injury. He played extremely sparingly on offense, only tallying two carries and three receptions, but was a consistent presence on special teams.
The team also announced practice squad quarterback A.J. McCarron as Cincinnati’s only standard gameday elevation for tomorrow. With Burrow out, McCarron will be available to serve as Browning’s backup.
NOVEMBER 17: The carnage from Thursday night’s game will hit the Bengals as well. Following the news of Mark Andrews likely being done for the season, Zac Taylor announced Friday that Joe Burrow has suffered a torn thumb ligament.
Burrow will miss the rest of the season with the wrist injury, Taylor revealed Friday. This is a devastating blow for the Bengals, who have seen Burrow change their trajectory over the past four seasons. Burrow entered Thursday having not missed a game due to injury since his rookie-year ACL tear. 
After playing through calf trouble early this season, Burrow had recovered. The Bengals’ fortunes reversed. The team won four straight, including victories over the 49ers and Bills, and had moved into a showdown with the Ravens. But Burrow arrived in Baltimore sporting a brace on his right wrist. The Bengals did not list their star quarterback on the Week 11 injury report, creating speculation the AFC North team was attempting to conceal a malady. As a result, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter indicates the NFL is investigating the Bengals.
While putting two and two together points to Burrow having an issue coming into Thursday night’s matchup, Taylor adds (via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo) the injury the fourth-year standout sustained is “completely unrelated” to the wrap he wore earlier in the day. When speaking publicly on the matter, Burrow confirmed as much (via ESPN’s Ben Baby). While attention around the league will turn to the league’s probe into the Bengals, Cincinnati will be forced to make a late run at the postseason with a major question mark under center.
Jake Browning, who took over for Burrow to close out last night’s contest, will assume starting duties for the rest of the season. The former UDFA had attempted one regular season pass in the NFL prior to Week 11, but he did enough in training camp and the preseason to earn a low-cost No. 2 job. Risk was incurred on the Bengals’ part by entrusting a relative unknown to serve as Burrow’s fill-in option, but Browning will now be tasked with leading the team toward a wild-card spot.
The Bengals entered Thursday’s loss ranked last in the league in rushing yards per game, so transitioning to a ground-heavy attack led by Joe Mixon may not offer a viable strategy. The team’s defense has delivered consecutive poor performances as well, so that unit will be hard-pressed to handle, in all likelihood, a larger workload with respect to having a role in victories down the stretch. Cincinnati sits at 5-5 on the year with an 0-3 record against the AFC North. A strong showing in the coming weeks will be needed for the team to remain in the hunt for what would now be considered an underdog postseason run.
Prior to the start of the 2023 season, Burrow inked a five-year, $275MM extension. That deal made him the latest in a line of young passers to land market-altering deals, and ensured his long-term future in Cincinnati. The 26-year-old will remain the foundation of the Bengals’ franchise for years to come, but today’s news will add another season-ending injury to his NFL career.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Browning’s the only other QB on their 53, but I’m sure they’ll sign AJ McCarron off their practice squad. That doesn’t put them in a great position to make the playoffs now.
Wow…you think?
Buffalo. Cincy. Funny how quickly the Super Bowl window closes
Although both teams are likely to miss the playoffs this year I don’t think their Super Bowl windows have closed. Both teams have young franchise QBs and they can retool around them going forward.
You’re right, of course, and in Cincy’s case it’s going to be interesting to see how they can keep the most talented receiving corp in the league intact come contract time
I do think the Bills have some retooling to undertake. Seems like their best opportunities with this group have passed
The Bills can retool pretty quickly since the core players are set. Need to retire some aging and slowing guys on the defense to free cap space and bolster the OL line, but better offensive and special teams coaching can fix many of their ills from this season
maybe they can bolster their OL line using money from ATM machines…
Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill are probably slightly more dangerous than JaMarr Chase and Tee Higgins. Tyler Boyd is a #2 in his own right. Don’t know who the Dolphins have as #3, perhaps Boyd swings the balance.
Motown has the correct response.
Sure, but they are both getting paid a lot of money, which makes it hard to retool the roster around them. The window was when they were on rookie deals.
The Bills can still make it especially now with 2 teams ahead of them losing their QB’s for the season
CIN Gets;
QB Tyson Badget
CHI Gets:
2024 6th Round Pick
And that will get the Bengals what…..more losses?
Agreed. Might as well keep the 6th round pick. Making the playoffs is no longer the expectation for the Bengals.
Did they move the deadline back a month? Reopen it? Or is this one of those “pass them through waivers like mlb used to allow kinda deals?
At least make a move for Mike White
Who is now QB2 in Miami to Tua. You want the Bengals to get smacked down with a tampering charge?
fr, that dude is nuts if he thinks the Bengals can finesse their way into Mike White
It was on example. Yall getting so worked up lmao
He could ask for release
Then he has to pass through waivers. Bengals are 5-5 so there’s a lot of others that get first dibs
But who would want him/need him that’s worse than Bengals record? Cardinals panthers giants all have qbs
Atlanta. Jets. Minnesota.
I thought the trade deadline was Oct 31, last I checked today is Nov 11th?
The Bengals have a talented roster and any playoff bubble teams like the Steelers, Browns, Bills, or Colts would be crazy to let a potential QB solution clear waiver.
In 2002 the Chargers snatched Deon Sanders off the wire from Washington to keep him from landing with the Raiders. The Chiefs, Cots, Steelers, and Titans all lined up to keep the Raiders from shoring up the secondary for a deep playoff run.
Toast. Get ready for draft season Bungul fans its over!
Last night is just case #392 for getting rid of Thursday night football.
If Big Rog is so hellbent on a 3rd prime ltime game every week, why not TUESDAY Night Football?
So everyone is preparing for the same 3-day window.
…instead of 1/16 of the league preparing and having to recuperate for a 1 day window exactly half a week from the current 2-window.
This not only helps players tremendously, but would probably also keep fan engagement from the previous 2 days of football.
I can only speak for myself, but 3 days after MNF, I’m really not in a mood for football til the weekend.
This is the same reason network TV debuts new shows with no following precisely in the hour following their hits.
Hey, the NFL really, really cares about player safety! (Except when it gets in the way of money.)
I’m good if they canceled Thursday night football. Sunday and Monday night was good enough for me.
That said, how do you think that would have prevented injuries to Andrews and Burrow?
Sounds like somebody’s got a case of the Thursdays
I believe you get your a$$ kicked sayin something like that man.
It must be a Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Earth to greg: Network TV is fading away and the strikes by the writers’ guild and actors’ guild are hastening when that will happen.
The league has been playing on Thursdays for a long time with Thanksgiving games. A team only plays one Thursday game a year
See what uve got w/Browning n play4 draft position. Can’t win em all or every season especially w/catastrophic loss of best players.
Matt Canada’s fault.
O RLY? Cincinnati has yet to play Pittsburgh.
Lighten up, Chuck. It was a joke, I’m sure
Bet they wish they would have traded Higgins at the deadline. Now he’ll walk!
Hi so there’s this thing called the franchise tag. They’ll use it on him
The tag will be over 23 million. That’s a lot of money for a guy that had injuries and problems catching the football this year
You may have missed the memo, but ‘Joe cool’ is getting crushed every single season. They need a new line for the 4th year in a row.
I’m definitely betting the under on Burrows being an effective starting QB five years from now. He’s talented like Andrew Luck was but possibly even more injury prone.
Burrow hasn’t missed a game since 2020
Unfortunately it’s impossible to turn back the clock. Once a player starts getting banged up, injuries tend to occur more frequently and require a longer recovery time. Perhaps in five years Burrows will be getting a contract extension to $70MM per year but I wouldn’t count on it.
So what you’re saying is that he’s missed half the season in 2 out of his 4 years in the league and hasn’t participated in a injury free training camp since his rookie year? Sounds injury prone to me
Andrew Luck was physically sound until his 4th season too. The wheels came off pretty quickly after that though and Burrows could be on the same trajectory.
They just don’t make QB’s like they used to.
What happened to the good old days when a thumb injury meant you spent all week learning to throw with the other hand?
Kansas City wants to Thank Cincinnati for signing O.Brown Jr. His miss got your quarterback hurt. Glad he’s doing a great for your team. Glad he’s gone from Kansas City. He isn’t to smart turning more money to play in Kansas City but signing for less in Cincinnati instead. So is your SuperBowl window starting to close up with Burrows hefty Contract now with his injuries.
As a Steelers fan, you’d think I’d be happy that their road to the playoffs is magically easier with 2 back up QB’s and Lamar, the most overrated QB in the NFL and a guy who turns to jello against them standing in their way. But this is a trash team with a guy who wouldn’t start at QB for 95% of the teams in the league, a poor O-line and a porous defense
With all of this news, fanboys can rejoice that Tomlin will extend his “ never had a losing season” streak even as the Chiefs or Dolphins are smoking them 31-0 at halftime.
Tired of watching this nauseating team week in and week out and now, with an apparent charm attached to their rear ends
Feel badly for fans of the other three teams in the division after the injuries. Better teams than the Steelers
I say this as a Browns fan who naturally hates the Steelers, but I agree with you. It’s infuriating to see how lucky they’ve gotten, especially with a team that literally has yet to outgain an opponent all year. They’re gonna luck themselves into 10-12 wins and a playoff spot.
Granted, I think some or most of that credit goes to Tomlin. But it’s still frustrating lol
There was a thought here for years that said Tomlin was only “great” thanks to inheriting guys like Troy, Heath, Hines, Ben and others from the Cowher era
As time goes by and mediocrity becomes the standard here in Pittsburgh, you wonder if that’s true
They have a few guys on defense who can change games but this year, they can thank opposing teams shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly. Not sure how much of a role Tomlin’s played in all of this other than stubbornness.
I agree, Steelers should fire tomlin, and promote Matt Canada. I would be careful for what you wish for because tomlin is probably in the top tier of coaches currently. They need a coordinator to see if Pickett is the answer.
Probably a candidate for the most delusional post of the year. I was once a Tomlin supporter but clearly, he’s the great pretender of NFL coaches. Nothing special about this guy
And your Canada comment is utter insanity.
The fact that you didn’t take that as a joke is pure insanity.
Too bad for joe and the fans of Cincinnati.
AFC is a mystery this season, some expected better from certain teams and other teams are being normally bad. Injuries are playing havoc in too many places
Tough break for the fans as well – as no one wants to watch another bench-warmer struggle at pretending to be an NFL QB.
So Joe Burrow and DeShaun Watson are out for the season. No coincidence that those are the teams that signed Orlando Brown and Andrew Wylie away from KC. In Veach We Trust.
Orlando Brown plays for the Bengals but Wylie doesn’t play for the Browns. Nice try though. Uninformed Chiefs fan
My bad. For some reason I had it in my head that he signed with Cleveland. Alas, he landed on that powerhouse team in Washington, whatever they are called now.
Oh the shame, I probably won’t be able to go outside now for weeks. A thousand pardons, oh wise and all knowing Deermeat.
Yeah, if you want to rip a team, it looks ridiculous when you get the team wrong. My advice is to wear a disguise when you go out for awhile
Oh, you’ll spot me right off. I’ll be wearing the 15 jersey and waving my two recent Super Bowl flags. You? I forgot, it sucks to be you.
Without Google, most Chiefs fans couldn’t name 5 players on the team. It’s the same way with the Bengals fans. Best fans in football are probably the Steelers, Browns, Raiders, Bills and Eagles
Orlando brown sucked for the Chiefs, they always had to to give him help blocking, that’s why they didn’t re-sign him for big money , they’re just as good this year, or maybe better without him…..he’s no left tackle, he’s a right tackle no matter what he thinks
I’m beginning to worry that Joe Burrow is gonna become Sam Bradford 2.0, that’s two season ending injuries in four seasons. The trade deadline was October 31st, so trading for someone else’s backup is totally out of the picture. The only options are signing a veteran free agent like Joe Flacco, Colt McCoy, Nick Foles, talk a recently retired player like Matt Ryan or Chad Henne into playing, or sign somebody like David Blough off another team’s practice squad.
It’s up to Jake Browning or AJ McCarron to get the job done but it’s probably over for the Bengals. They don’t run the ball particularly good and their defense is erratic. The Bengals are built to win with their quarterback and they’re not winning with a backup
That is true for every team in the NFL!!
Browns are continuing to win and will most likely make the playoffs. My point is that if the Bengals were not so dependent on Burrow, they’d have a chance to make the playoffs. Pittsburgh gets less than average quarterback play but they’re still a wildcard as of now
Browns lost. My point is that most, if not all, NFL teams are in trouble if their starting QB goes down for the season. There aren’t 30 good NFL QBs, let alone 60. Browns and Bengals both miss playoffs, probably. And also, nobody is looking at Pittsburgh offense as a model!!
Browns have a favorable schedule and they’re a 5th seed as of now. Bengals definitely don’t make the playoffs but I’d say the Browns have a 60% chance of making it. There’s a few teams that lost their starting quarterback and are still in the playoffs as of today. Cleveland. Minnesota. Indianapolis.
AJ McCarron sounds a lot more promising than Joe Flacco. At least McCarron would still like to prove something to the league (and starts with solid talent).
McCarron for some reason has people believing that he’s better than he really is. What has he ever done? Flacco played for a team last year that had offensive line issues. Cleveland has a much better offensive line than the Jets
McCarron was a three-year starter at Alabama with some very decent stats, in particular completion percentage and TD/INT ratio. He’s also 6’3″ and 220 (no size issues for NFL). In the three games McCarron started (sadly, all the way back in his rookie seasons), TD/INT ratio was 6/2. Strange McCarron hasn’t been given more of a shot. McCarron is older than I thought (33 now) so he’s probably not the answer at this point either. There’s hope though as McCarron has something to prove. Joe Flacco could care less. He’s been mailing it in for a paycheque since the Super Bowl win (many, many years ago).
Flacco apparently cared enough to stay in shape and throw on a regular basis. He finally has a team or at least an offensive line in front of him. The Browns this year are much better than the teams Flacco played for recently. And you’re gonna blame all those other teams for not giving McCarron a chance? Maybe there’s a reason for that. Maybe he’s just not that good.
Shoeless Joe Burrow…banned..point shaviing!
22 games in, at what point do the Steelers make the change at QB? Clearly, this is a 2nd or 3rd string QB who’s being outplayed week after week. I can’t think of a starter in this league who’s NOT better than Pickett.
But it would have been a crime for the Browns to lose today’s game and thanks to Tomlin’s “coaching” they didn’t have to worry
What a sorry time to be a sports fan in Pittsburgh