Panic Meter for Joe Burrow Injury, 0-2 Teams and NFL’s Biggest Red Flags

For the second time in three years, Joe Burrow will miss extended time because of a serious injury. In 2023, he underwent surgery on his wrist. This time, the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback needs surgery on his toe.

According to Jeremy Rauch of FOX19, Burrow has turf toe with torn ligaments, which explains the long recovery period.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Burrow will be out “a minimum of three months.”

Like the second half of the 2023 season, the Bengals will turn to Jake Browning to fill in for Burrow. In that campaign, Cincinnati went 4-3 with its backup signal-caller, going 9-8 for the term.

Browning went undrafted in 2019 and didn’t play a regular-season snap until he replaced Burrow four years later. Yet, he kept the Bengals offense steady, throwing for 1,936 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions with a league-leading 70.4 percent completion rate.

Now, with that experience, Browning can still be a solid replacement for Burrow. Though he threw three interceptions last Sunday, the seventh-year veteran engineered a fourth-quarter comeback for the victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Bengals offense will be less prolific with Browning, but they’ve been in this situation before with him. With a 2-0 start, Cincinnati could still be competitive in the AFC playoff picture. By the way, in Week 3, the Bengals will face the Minnesota Vikings, who have scored the fifth-fewest points through two weeks.

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