Another year, another significant injury for Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrrow.
The Bengals' superstar quarterback sustained a Grade 3 turf toe injury in the Week 2 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, which will keep him out for an extended period of time. His absence is obviously a terrible blow for Cincy.
With Burrow sidelined, Jake Browning is taking the reins of the offense for the foreseeable future, but he has not played well in two-plus games. Despite that, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor hasn't wavered in his support of the veteran.
"I've got a ton of confidence in Jake," he said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. "I'm unwavering in that. I've seen the best of Jake. I know that we can do a great job supporting him to where he can go win games for us. So, I feel extremely confident in Jake Browning."
As for Burrow, here's the latest update on when Burrow might return.
When is Joe Burrow coming back?
Burrow's injury required surgery and the expectation is that he's going to miss at least three months. Burrow had the surgery on Friday, Sept. 17, and three months from then puts his earliest possible return at Week 16 (Dec. 21).
However, FOX Sports' Jay Glazer noted how difficult of an injury it is to come back from and he wouldn't be surprised if Burrow doesn't come back until the playoffs if the Bengals make it that far.
“They’re saying three months, I don’t see three months being an actual timeline,” Glazer said. “I think more so [Burrow has] a chance [to return] if they make the playoffs, but only because it’s Joe Burrow. Somebody else, I’d say no. But he has that Mamba Mentality, maybe yes. It’s such a difficult injury to return from.”
If Browning continues to struggle, it's very possible the Bengals will explore their options at quarterback, a list that includes Joe Flacco, Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins, all of whom were benched for younger quarterbacks.
Flacco was benched for Week 5 in favor of Dillon Gabriel, Wilson lost his job in Week 4 to Jaxson Dart and Cousins has been riding the pine since the Atlanta Falcons made the switch to Michael Penix Jr. last season.
For now, it looks like the Bengals are intent on sticking with Browning, though.
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