CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow had surgery on Monday to address a season-ending wrist injury that occurred during the Bengals' showdown with the Baltimore Ravens on Nov. 16.
Burrow tore a ligament in his wrist during the Thursday Night Football game.
More than one week later, the Bengals announced he had undergone successful surgery on his wrist.
"The procedure went as planned and he is expected to make a full recovery," the team said in a statement.
Burrow will return to Cincinnati this week and will be with the team as he begins his rehab process.
During his last game of the season, Burrow said he "felt it pop" while throwing a touchdown pass to Joe Mixon. He was visibly in pain and went to the blue medical tent as soon as he got off the field. When he returned to the sideline, he attempted to throw the ball but couldn't.
The injury caused buzz on social media, specifically because a video showing what Burrow said was a compression sleeve on his right arm ahead of the game was deleted from Bengals' social feeds. The video had briefly shown Burrow getting off a plane before the team's loss to the Bengals with his right hand in what appeared to be a brace.
Lots of talk about a deleted #Bengals post, which showed Joe Burrow wearing some type of brace or sleeve on his right wrist.🎥 Here’s video of Burrow getting off the team bus in Baltimore.Not a perfectly clear shot, but you can definitely see it on his hand.@WCPO pic.twitter.com/XcqX6oMODA
— Caleb Noe (@CalebNoeTV) November 16, 2023
The NFL launched an investigation into whether Burrow should have been placed on the injury list ahead of the game against the Ravens. NFL reporter Ian Rapoport reportedthe Bengals have since turned in hours of footage to the NFL to show Burrow was healthy prior to the game.
"According to those who have seen the footage, Burrow threw the ball normally during practice, without a brace and took all of his normal reps," wrote Rapoport. "It also includes documentation from medical personnel stating Burrow's injury was 'acute,' as Taylor has explained. It was not, the doctors say, an injury that happened over time, sources say."
The QB has been riddled with injuries in his career. This season he's been dealing with a calf strain that impacted him for multiple games. During the 2020-2021 season, Burrow tore his ACL and MCL, which ended his season.
"(I've) been threw it before, just gotta grind it out," Burrow said.
Burrow said he plans to treat the injury like anything else, saying "that's all you can do."
In Burrow's absence, backup Jake Browning has started for the Bengals. Browning finished out the second half of the Bengals-Ravens game after Burrow's wrist injury led to his ejection from the game.
Browning also started against the Steelers on Sunday. He threw a touchdown pass in his first start but had trouble keeping the chains moving. He finished 19 for 26 for 227 yards and threw an interception in the red zone.
The Bengals ultimately lost to the Steelers 16-10, bringing their record to 5-6.
