Cincinnati Bengals announce Joe Burrow underwent successful wrist surgery

“Joe Burrow underwent successful surgery on his wrist today. The procedure went as planned and he is expected to make a complete recovery,” the Bengals said in a statement. “Joe will return to Cincinnati this week to be with the team and begin the recovery and rehab process.”

Burrow, 26, sustained the injury in the 34-20 Week 11 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens (9-3). It’s the second time in his brief career he’s suffered a season-ending surgery, tearing his ACL during his rookie season in 2020. In 10 games this season, Burrow threw for 2,309 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions on 66.8% passing.

“I’ve been through stuff like this before. It’s nothing new,” Burrow said last week. “It’s football. Stuff like this happens. You just have to learn to live with it. I’ve talked a lot about leaning on your support system. I’ve got a great support system. Great friends, great family [to] help me get through it. Great teammates. I’ll be around here. Not ideal, but I’ve got what it takes and the people around me got what it takes to get it done.”

Jake Browning takes over for injured Joe Burrow

Cincinnati has since turned to Jake Browning under center. Making his first-career start in the Week 12 home matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-4), Browning completed 16-of-27 passes for 227 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Steelers defeated the Bengals, 16-10.

“I think just focusing on what I can build on from this game,” Browning said after the game, via the team’s website. “All the overarching themes of a season and stuff like that… Those kinds of storylines are big for your jobs, but for my job, it’s just day-to-day and trying to consistently get better. If I do consistently get better, then good things will happen. I think just really having a narrow focus on that.

“There are a hundred different narratives you could run with in your head, and I think for me to play my best I have to avoid all those. That’s kind of my plan of attack — avoid whatever narratives are going on, just go home and watch the film, come into meetings on Monday and just say, ‘OK, where do we go from here? What do I need to do better in order to help us win?'”