Bengals push back on claim Joe Burrow was injured before Ravens game; wrist surgery coming Monday

Joe Burrow will undergo wrist surgery on Monday. Will the Bengals get into trouble for not having him on their injury report prior to his injury at Baltimore?

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is set to have surgery Monday on his injured wrist, head coach Zac Taylor announced following the team’s 16-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Elsewhere, according to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Bengals have submitted evidence to prove that Burrow was fully healthy ahead of last Thursday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens, in which the star quarterback departed with what was later revealed to be a season-ending wrist injury.

Here is an excerpt of the report:

“Sources familiar with the organization say the Bengals have turned in hours of footage to the NFL showing that Burrow was healthy prior to the game,” Rapoport wrote. “According to those who have seen the footage, Burrow threw the ball normally during practice, without a brace, and took all of his normal reps.

“It also includes documentation from medical personnel stating Burrow’s injury was “acute,” as Taylor has explained. It was not, the doctors say, an injury that happened over time, sources say.”

The NFL is investigating whether or not Burrow was purposely hidden from the injury report after a video surfaced of him arriving in Baltimore with his wrist wrapped.

Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk:

“The NFL has every incentive to find that the Bengals did not violate the rules. If the Bengals get sued for fraudulently concealing the injury (to the detriment of any gamblers who bet on the Bengals in reliance on the representation that he was healthy), the NFL quite possibly gets a ticket to the litigation party, too, under the argument that the league has negligently failed to enforce its own rules.”

Meanwhile, the Bengals fell to 5-6 overall following their Week 12 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers in their first game without Burrow Sunday. Jake Browning did alright, but the defense couldn’t get off the field enough against a Steelers offense that was among the NFL’s worst entering the week and just fired OC Matt Canada.

Oh, and Logan Wilson was forced from the game due to an ankle injury.

What a mess.