NFL Reportedly Investigating Bengals For Joe Burrow Injury

The Cincinnati Bengals lost a crucial divisional game Thursday night. They also might have lost quarterback Joe Burrow for some time.

Oh, and now they reportedly have to deal with the NFL looking into some potentially shady business regarding Burrow’s injury.

The Bengals quarterback left Thursday night’s eventual loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the second quarter. He emerged from the locker room at halftime but remained on the sideline, and the Bengals eventually ruled him out midway through the third quarter with a right wrist injury.

There wasn’t any play where Burrow clearly injured his hand or wrist, and that’s because it might have been a preexisting injury. Pregame footage of Burrow and the Bengals arriving at the stadium appeared to show the quarterback’s right wrist or hand in some sort of brace. The Bengals also posted since-deleted video of Burrow getting off the team plane Wednesday with a brace on his right wrist.

The problem with that, of course, is that Burrow didn’t appear on the injury report this week. That’s a no-no, and now, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Friday the NFL is investigating why they didn’t list him on the injury report. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini had a similar report, adding the NFL “will be looking at photos, practice video and speaking to people with the organization to decide if there was any wrongdoing.”

The NFL has disciplined teams for similar actions in the past. Keeping an honest injury report might be more important than ever, too. The NFL has leaned all the way into the legalized sports betting explosion across America, and there are millions of dollars wagered on games every week. Fantasy football is also a major driver of interest for the league. If something like the injury report isn’t on the level, it not only affects the product on the field, but it also hurts the integrity of action off the field on which the league makes a lot of money.