Why is the NFL investigating the Cincinnati Bengals in connection with Joe Burrow’s injury?
As if an apparent wrist problem wasn’t enough for the Bengals and their star QB to deal with, now it seems the NFL is set to investigate the injury itself.
From deleted videos on social media to a seemingly oblivious head coach, it appears the NFL doesn’t like the look of how things were handled regarding an injury sustained by the Bengals signal caller. S
The NFL wants clarity on Joe Burrow’s injury
According to reports, the Cincinnati Bengals are being investigated by the NFL on the grounds of possibly violating the league’s injury policy. The news of course comes in the wake of an injury to starting quarterback Joe Burrow. If you caught Thursday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, you would have seen that Burrow was forced off the field after what appeared to be a non-contact injury in the Bengals’ 34-20 win. Following a touchdown pass to Joe Mixon in the second quarter, Burrow grabbed his wrist immediately in visible pain.
Minutes later, the 26-year-old playmaker could be seen attempting to throw on the sideline, but with very little success. Burrow was then taken to the team’s locker room and as we know, was eventually ruled out of the game with a wrist injury. Why does the NFL want clarity on the situation you ask? As per reports, the league is seeking to discover whether Burrow was already carrying the injury ahead of Thursday’s game. The reason is that Burrow reportedly arrived in Baltimore on Wednesday wearing a brace on his right wrist. Why is that an issue? Relative to the rules, if he was already carrying an injury he should have been listed on the team’s injury report - he was not.
So, what have the Bengals said?
Not a whole lot to be honest. Following the game, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor stated that he was not aware that Burrow had even been wearing a brace. “That was the first I saw anything about it,” he said. Incidentally, Taylor also went on to state that Burrow wasn’t dealing with any form of injury in the days prior to the game which is why he wasn’t on the injury report.
OK, but what’s the deal with Joe Burrow’s injury & the Bengals’ position?
To be perfectly honest, the only reason we even know that Burrow was wearing a brace is because the Bengals’ official social media account posted a video in which we got a glance at the QB on Wednesday. Where things get murky, is that said video was quickly deleted. As you can imagine, that begs a question. In case you’re wondering, if the Bengals are found guilty of ‘non-compliance’ with the league’s injury policy, they could be in some trouble. The last notable instance of such a thing was back in 2019 when the Steelers were fined for their handling of an injury to then-quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.