Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow knows a thing or two about suffering season-ending injuries. In fact, two of Burrow's first four seasons prior to the current campaign ended with the signal-caller sidelined because of an injury issue.
During his rookie season in 2020, Burrow suffered a major knee injury in Week 11 as he tore both his MCL and ACL and missed the remainder of the season as a result. Last year again in Week 11, Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury that required surgery.
So, Burrow is uniquely qualified to discuss season-ending injuries suffered by other players, like the one Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered late in the first half of the Week 7 matchup with the Bengals. While trying to avoid pressure, Watson tore the Achilles tendon in his right leg. He was carted off the field and the following day it was announced that he would undergo season-ending surgery to address the injury.
Burrow reacts to Watson's season-ending Achilles injury
It was a tough sight to see, and after Cincinnati's 21-14 victory over Cleveland, Burrow was asked how he felt when he saw Watson go down and he provided an honest, diplomatic answer.
"I don't want to see anyone go down, It's always tough," Burrow said. "We know everybody's out there putting their bodies on the line for their families, for themselves, for the fans. So whenever you see somebody go down, it's tough. Whether it's your guy, the other guy, quarterback, D-line. It doesn't matter. It's always tough."
This is exactly the type of answer you'd expect from Burrow. He was respectful without being overly emotional, which is more than can be said for many Browns fans, who cheered and booed when Watson went down with the injury. Browns defensive end Myles Garrett called out the behavior of such fans after the game.
"We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall," Garrett said. " could be a season-altering, career-altering injury."
It's true that booing or cheering an injured player is a bad look, regardless of how poorly they've played throughout the season. Players are humans at the end of the day, and serious injuries are difficult enough to deal with without having thousands of people celebrating your misfortune.
Watson will now be sidelined indefinitely moving forward, which impacts the Bengals since the two teams will play again in Week 16 in December. Obviously, a different signal-caller will be under center for Cleveland in that contest.