The laundry list of injuries that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has had to endure throughout his six seasons in the NFL is something you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy.
Whether it was an awful knee injury during his rookie campaign, an exploded appendix, a torn ligament in his right throwing wrist, a calf injury in training camp, or his latest turf toe injury, Burrow is approaching Andrew Luck territory. I mean that in terms of sheer scar tissue and poor organizational support, not to suggest Burrow will retire early like Luck did.
Luck was as tough as they come, but even he couldn't proceed with his NFL career when the constant cycle of injuries and rehab caught up with him. Based on what Burrow said in breaking his silence after his latest setback, Bengals fans can breathe a sigh of relief for the future.
Joe Burrow makes first public statement about turf toe injury on Instagram
Without further ado, here's what Burrow had to say on Instagram, where he acknowledged how dispiriting it is to miss an extended period of time yet again.
Believe I speak for most of Who Dey Nation when I say that my soul wanted to leave my body upon reading the first sentence of this caption. "This game will break your heart."
The silver lining, though, is that Burrow ended it with, "See you soon." Meaning the tireless competitor in him will do everything in his power to get back to being an elite franchise QB in the Queen City.
This will mark the third time in six seasons that Burrow has missed significant time due to injury. It's a discouraging trend to say the least, and the saddest part is, all of these major health woes occurred on seemingly routine plays.
It's not like Burrow is super reckless when he scrambles around and makes off-schedule plays as he's wont to do often. Pass protection breakdowns were to blame for his blown-out knee in 2020 and his turf toe ailment.
Burrow has had successful surgery. Now, a long road to recovery of at least three months lies ahead. It's possible Joe Brrr could make a return to the field sometime in December, yet there's little reason for Cincinnati to trot him out there unless the team is still in the AFC playoff mix.
Jake Browning played very well in 2023 when he subbed in for Burrow, posting a 4-3 record to keep the Bengals in the postseason hunt. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite enough to get into the tournament, and the Browning-led offense looked lost in this past Sunday's 48-10 loss to the Vikings in Minnesota.
We'll see if Browning can hold down the fort for Burrow's potential return. Otherwise, I guess we'll have to look forward to 2026, when Burrow will be a prime contender to win the Comeback Player of the Year Award for the third time.