An NFL official told ESPN on Friday morning that the league is looking into why quarterback Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals was not listed on the team’s injury report this week due to a wrist ailment that ultimately prevented him from playing in Thursday night’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
On Wednesday night, the Bengals released a video on X showing Burrow stepping off the team bus with what looked like a soft cast on his right hand. Afterward, they removed the post.
The injury against the Ravens seemed to hinder Burrow before he left the game in the second quarter and was declared out soon after halftime.
Following the Bengals’ 34-20 defeat, head coach Zac Taylor announced that initial tests revealed Burrow had a sprained right wrist. In the changing area, Burrow was observed donning a layered wrap.
Before appearing to be in significant pain following his final play of the game, when he completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to running back Joe Mixon, Burrow, according to Taylor, had suffered a fall on his wrist earlier in the contest.
Prior to the game, the coach claimed he was unaware of Burrow’s wrist condition.
Taylor stated, “That was the first I saw anything about it,” and he “absolutely” felt good about Burrow going into the competition.
The NFL regularly investigates claims that its injury report policy is being followed. The league penalizes teams for filing false injury reports, and they may also lose their draft pick. During the spring owners meetings, the NFL forewarned teams that they must report all injuries.
In 2019, the NFL fined the Pittsburgh Steelers $75,000 and head coach Mike Tomlin $25,000 for failing to correctly list quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the practice report prior to the team’s Week 2 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks, in violation of the injury report policy.