Joe Burrow injury update: Unfortunate diagnosis, timeline emerges on Bengals star per report

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is believed to have turf toe with torn ligaments, per Jeremy Rauch of FOX19 in Cincinnati. Burrow suffered the injury in the second quarter Sunday against Jacksonville after Jaguars defensive lineman Arik Armstead sacked him and landed on his foot.

Burrow’s exact return timeline is still unknown, but he is expected to miss several weeks. Jake Browning took over for him Sunday, leading the Bengals to a 31-27 victory.

Browning finished 21-of-32 passing for 241 yards and two touchdowns, though he also threw three interceptions. He also started seven games for Cincinnati in 2023 when Burrow sat out due to injury.

It looks very likely that the Bengals will once again have to rely on him for at least the next few weeks. He led the team to a 4-3 record during his seven starts in 2023 while throwing for 1,936 yards and 12 touchdowns to seven interceptions that season.

As for Burrow, this is a crushing blow to the QB, who was coming off of a career season in 2024. He led the NFL in both passing yards (4,918) and touchdowns (43) while throwing nine interceptions.

The injury is far from Burrow’s first. In 2020, Burrow suffered a season-ending ACL tear. More recently, Burrow missed the final seven games of the 2023 campaign after suffering an injury to his right wrist. Last year, Burrow revealed the impact the injuries had on his mindset.

“Whenever the injuries start to stack up, your football mortality kind of comes into the back of your mind,” Burrow said. “So that’s definitely something I’ve thought about and something I have had to fight through.”

When Burrow’s been healthy, he’s routinely been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Last season, Burrow led the league in completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns. In 2022, Burrow led Cincinnati to its first Super Bowl appearance since 1988.

Despite Burrow’s standout season last year, he had a subpar showing in the Bengals’ season-opener against the Cleveland Browns last week. In the win, Burrow completed just 14-of-his-23 pass attempts for 113 yards and a touchdown.

With the win Sunday, Cincinnati is off to a 2-0 start to the young season but the injury to Joe Burrow casts doubt on their trajectory going forward. The Bengals next face the Minnesota Vikings in Week 3 and all eyes will be on Browning as he will presumably lead the offense into that matchup.

On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this report.