On Sunday, CBS showed a clip reel of Joe Burrow repeatedly flexing his right wrist, sending social media into a panic over the state of his surgically repaired joint.
Burrow attempted to quell those concerns on Wednesday, telling reporters that there’s no cause for alarm.
CBS broadcast the clip reel late in Cincinnati‘s 16-10 loss to the New England Patriots. Video showed Burrow flexing his wrist repeatedly throughout the game, including while on the field and on the sideline before picking up a bottle.
For everyone freaking out about JoeyB’s hand/wrist and messaging me:
This is normal stretching and precaution, they just highlighted it in the broadcast for drama pic.twitter.com/2l2gXQPRSS
— Joe Burrow Fan Club (@JoeyBClub) September 10, 2024
This led to rampant speculation on social media that Burrow might still be ailing from his 2023 wrist injury. Burrow injured the wrist on his throwing arm last November, ending his season with seven games left on the schedule.
The injury required surgery to repair a torn ligament. Sunday was Burrow’s first game back since the injury. His performance didn’t to anything to tamp down the speculation.
Burrow completed 21 of 29 passes for 164 yards (5.7 yards per attempt) without throwing a touchdown. A once high-octane Bengals passing game produced 154 yards. The 16-10 loss to a Patriots team projected as one of the NFL’s worst was the biggest upset of Week 1.
Burrow’s explanation
Burrow said Wednesday that his repeated wrist flexing is just part of his routine as he continues to ramp back up from wrist surgery.
“I’m doing that all the time,” Burrow said. “When you come back from injury, you’re always trying to keep the joint loose. That’s part of ligament injuries. If you don’t move it, you’re gonna lose it.
“I’m always moving it around, keeping it loose, keeping my mobility the way it’s supposed to be. It’s gonna continue to happen. I do it at home. I do it here. I do it all the time.”
Even that explanation leaves the door open for concern. A fully functional wrist, obviously, shouldn’t require a constant form of physical therapy. That alone appears to confirm that his wrist isn’t what it used to be.
Which opens the door to two more questions. Is Burrow capable of making the throws he used to make? And how long will it take for him to get back his former self, if not.
Burrow addressed that concern as well telling reporters “absolutely not” when asked if his wrist is preventing him from making any throws. But the true answer will come on the field over the course of the 17-game season.
Burrow’s next chance to quiet the speculation won’t come any easier. The Bengals travel to Kansas City on Sunday to take on the two-time reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs with the prospect of digging an 0-2 whole to start the season.
