COLUMBIA, OHIO – As if things couldn’t get much worse for the Cincinnati Bengals and their prized rookie quarterback Joe Burrow, 2020 took a disastrous turn.
Burrow’s left leg was flexed in an abnormal angle in the second half of Sunday’s game against Washington, draining the team and its long-suffering fans of excitement and optimism in an instant.
Cincinnati lost the game after losing Burrow for the season.
“It just kind of tore everybody apart,” said receiver Tyler Boyd.
Burrow tweeted shortly after the game, “Thanks for all the love.” That’s not going to happen. “I’ll see you next year.”
Burrow will have surgery and should be available for the 2021 season, according to coach Zac Taylor. On Monday, Burrow was placed on injured reserve.
“He was a tremendous leader for us, and he gave us a lot of energy the way he led the unit,” said Taylor. “I can’t be robot coach and say that we’re not going to be missing that, because we will.”
Boyd stated that he saw Burrow on Monday and that the quarterback’s mood was “positive.”
“His spirits are up,” Boyd commented. “He isn’t strolling around with his head bowed. He’s a firm believer, and he feels he’ll return stronger than ever.”
Burrow’s popularity in both Louisiana (where he won a national championship at LSU) and Cincinnati was reflected in an increase in donations to an Athens, Ohio, hunger relief foundation inspired by his Heisman Trophy speech and now bearing his name.
It began immediately after he was removed from the field. Many others donated $9 to match his uniform number, and hundreds posted notes of support on the website.
“We are very proud of you, Joe,” wrote an unidentified donor on Monday. “We know you have the makings of a Super Bowl champion. Adversity is a part of every great story… this is only another chapter for you!”
Taylor, whose first season in 2019 ended with a 2-14 record, could see Burrow’s improvement and potential, who was on pace to shatter multiple rookie passing records and had already thrown for 300 yards five times.
“He handled everything like a professional from Day One, and to be voted a captain just speaks to everything that you need to know about the guy,” Taylor said in a statement. “The players have responded to him, the coaches have responded to him, the city has responded to him, and all that is equally as important.”
Before Burrow was hauled away Sunday, his Cincinnati teammates gathered in support, and Chase Young, Dwyane Haskins, and Terry McLaurin – Washington players who were Burrow’s teammates at Ohio State – also stopped by.
Now the spotlight is on backup quarterback Ryan Finley, a fourth-round pick in 2019 who saw some action as a rookie last year when Andy Dalton was benched. He’ll start against the New York Giants on Sunday, with Brandon Allen (Fayetteville, Arkansas Razorbacks) moving up from the practice squad to No. 2.
As fingers were pointed everywhere Monday in the aftermath of Burrow’s injury, Taylor claimed it was the right decision to start the freshman from the start, despite the doubtful state of an offensive line that became even more unsure due to several injuries.
Taylor stated that the offensive line was playing well in the first half on Sunday and that on the play that resulted in the injury, Burrow had a “clean pocket” to get the ball out and then got his leg bent sideways after pass-rushers collapsed on him.
The Bengals have been plagued by injuries on the offensive and defensive lines, as well as in the secondary, this season. Joe Mixon, the starting running back, has been placed on injured reserve.
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