It’s a never ending nightmare for Bengals fans. Joe Burrow, for the third time in his six-year career has suffered another long-term injury. *sigh* Somebody please pinch me and tell me this is all a nightmare.
Burrow suffered a Grade 3 turf toe injury that will leave him watching from the sidelines for a minimum of three months, which is practically the rest of the 2025 season. Zac Taylor did state on Wednesday that they aren’t closing the door on a Joe Burrow return late in the regular season.
If everything stays on schedule then Joe Burrow should return as early as December 15th that’s exactly three months since the injury. But that is a BIG if. Joe Burrow underwent a successful surgery on Friday. Before Burrow took his trip to the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center in Birmingham, Alabama, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins brought food to Joe Burrow’s home to cheer him up.
“To keep a smile on his face.”
— Caleb Noe (@CalebNoeTV) September 18, 2025
Tee Higgins & Ja’Marr Chase are hanging out with Joe Burrow tonight.
They’re taking him food, & might discuss this week’s game plan (if Joe wants to).
I asked Tee if he thinks Joe will want to talk football:
“Yeah he probably will.”#Bengals pic.twitter.com/Ipja3tDBYL
Before Joe Burrow was sacked by Jaguars defensive tackle Arik Armstead, Burrow was seen limping around before ultimately playing in another snap that turned out to be his final of the game.
Burrow is coming off a year where he won Comeback Player of the Year and when he won the award he said this:
“I wouldn’t say this is necessarily an award you wanna be nominated for two times, but I’m proud of the work I’ve put in to come back from these injuries I seem to face every year.
Joe Burrow now has another shot to win the award.
Before exiting the game he went 7/13, 76 yards, and a touchdown. When Jake Browning came into the game to fill in, he recorded 241 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions, and a game winning one-yard (practically a couple inches) game-winning touchdown with eighteen seconds left in regulation. Cincinnati eventually won 31-27 with Trey Hendrickson sacking Trevor Lawrence with fourteen seconds left and running.
The games that the Bengals will wish they had Joe Burrow will be:
at Denver Broncos
vs. Detroit Lions
at Green Bay Packers
at Buffalo Bills
(Not including divisional opponents.)
According to multiple reports earlier in the week, the Bengals were fielding calls for free agent quarterbacks and eventually signed Brett Rypien off the practice squad and signed Mike White and Sean Clifford to the practice squad.
In 2023 when Jake Browning took over after Burrow suffered season-ending wrist injury, Browning led the team to a 4-3 record and became the first Bengals quarterback to win his first three out of four starts since Boomer Esiason in 1984.
With Jake Browning at the helm, there has been plenty of optimism and pessimism from Bengals fans since the injury. Who knows, maybe Browning will lead Cincinnati to a playoff spot and Burrow comes back and takes over. No one knows, there have been lots of predictions for the Bengals outcome without Burrow. My take? Don’t doubt Jake Browning.
