Joe Burrow injury timeline officially draws Bengals near Andrew Luck territory

The Cincinnati Bengals and Joe Burrow appear to be cursed. How else do you explain the superstar quarterback's inability to stay healthy in light of the brutal toe injury he suffered in Week 2, and the Bengals' well-intentioned but consistent whiffing on assets to protect him?

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported early Monday that Burrow's left turf toe injury will require surgery and will keep him out "a minimum of three months." In other words, there's a chance his 2025 season could be over.

There will be time to weigh in on underrated baller Jake Browning and what the Bengals look like the rest of the way with him under center. In a macro-organizational sense, though, Cincinnati is officially joining some unwanted company.

Bengals are failing Joe Burrow in an eerily similar way to the Colts' Andrew Luck

Considering Burrow appears to have a star-crossed career as is, I don't think it's "bad vibes" to put this type of take out there. The damage is done. The bad vibes are vibing in full fortissimo vibrato.

Again, how much of Burrow's sadness cycle is attributable to some hex from the football gods, and how much of it is malpractice by the Bengals' brain trust? Whatever the case, the results are what they are.

Looking at the career of another No. 1 overall pick, Andrew Luck, I can't help but see similarities to what Burrow has endured. Not to say that the players have identical mental makeup, or that Burrow will concede defeat with his body into early retirement. It's just that, we're getting to the point where there's so much wear and tear that Burrow may never be the same.

Luck made it through five and a half seasons of football, missing all of what would've been his penultimate year in the pros with a shoulder injury. He rallied back from that in 2018 to win Comeback Player of the Year — an award Burrow's already earned twice — and led the Colts to the playoffs.

Unfortunately, Luck suffered calf and ankle injuries before the 2019 campaign, and abruptly retired that August. He was exhausted by the constant setbacks and rehabs. Football was no longer fun. A few weeks shy of his 30th birthday, Luck was finished.

Can't emphasize enough how I don't believe Burrow will go this route. Nevertheless, his injury rap sheet is absolutely absurd at this point.

This overview doesn't even mention how Burrow's appendix exploded during training camp in 2022, leading to a hospital stay. Nor is there mention of the following camp, where he went down with an injured calf and was hobbled to start that season.

Like Luck, when Burrow was drafted, he went to the worst team in the league. The roster reflected that. Cincinnati's offensive line was a five-man sieve in pass protection, which led to his devastating knee injury that, as you can see above, destroyed every major ligament.

The fact that Burrow rallied back from that rookie setback to make it all the way to Super Bowl LVI is a testament to his resilience. Luck was similarly beset with a bad o-line and dragged the Colts to three 11-win seasons before several ailments, namely a lacerated kidney, limited Luck to seven games in 2015.

Between his rookie year and 2023, Burrow has missed almost a full season's worth of games. This toe surgery will knock him out for most of the current season — potentially all but five-plus quarters. Another lengthy rehab lay ahead.

I wouldn't blame Burrow for whatever he does going forward. I will never discount him. You don't win Comeback Player of the Year twice if you're some normal dude. Joe Brrr is a football sicko, but at what point does he take into account his long-term health to the point of walking away?

Still can't get over this stat and wonder how all the punishment that's piled up on Burrow over the years has taken its toll, or perhaps set the stage for Week 2's disaster.

Hate to say I told the Bengals so, but I did try to advocate for them making a historic trade to acquire Ja'Marr Chase and Penei Sewell in the 2021 NFL Draft. Had they done that, they would've had a legit franchise cornerstone to protect Burrow, and would've probably won Super Bowl LVI. Just saying.

I know that's convenient to say in hindsight. Nevertheless, the reality is, Cincinnati should've taken far more extreme measures to take hits off Burrow than the moves that have been made to date.

This issue isn't necessarily limited to pass protection. The current Bengals o-line can't run block to save their lives. The coaching staff can't diversify the running game enough to complement Burrow either because they lack schematic imagination, or they don't have the dudes in the trenches to pull it off. In any event, it's a collective failure by the entire football operation to maximize their chances of keeping Burrow healthy.

It's not like Burrow is some reckless maverick on the gridiron. He's arguably the best pure pocket passer in the sport. Taking off to run on some YOLO scramble is a last resort for him, and he's generally great at protecting himself.

Burrow's devastating knee injury came on a hit from the pocket where his body was folded like a pretzel. His torn wrist ligament came just as he released a touchdown pass. And on Sunday, Cincinnati couldn't block up a four-man rush by the Jacksonville Jaguars, leading to Burrow's severe case of turf toe.

Sad times in Cincinnati. Hard not to be depressed, especially given the Andrew Luck parallels at play. But if there's anyone who can rally, recover, and return to play at an elite level in spite of all these tragic plot twists, it's Joseph Lee Burrow.

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