The Cincinnati Bengals’ Super Bowl 58 hopes took a giant blow on Friday, when it was confirmed that superstar quarterback Joe Burrow will miss the rest of the year with a torn ligament in his right wrist.
Burrow left Thursday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens with a wrist injury in the second quarter. The 27-year-old was visibly frustrated on the sidelines, unable to properly grip a football before heading to the locker room.
With Burrow out for the year, the Bengals need to add another QB to the roster. Matt Lombardo of FanBuzz proposed the idea of Cincy signing Lamar Jackson’s former Louisville teammate in Malik Cunningham, who’s currently on the New England Patriots’ practice squad:
“Cunningham offers tantalizing athleticism as a dual-threat quarterback capable of opening up opportunities for running back Joe Mixon in the running game, if he can harness his arm-strength to get the football to the likes of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in the vertical passing game. However, Cunningham needs a lot of improvement as a passer. Still, after finishing as the No. 3 most athletic quarterback at the 2023 Combine, Cunningham could be a fascinating option to add a new wrinkle to Cincinnati’s offense.”
Cunningham was a redshirt at Louisville in 2017 during Jackson’s final season of college. A superstar dual-threat quarterback for the Cardinals, Cunningham had 3,182 rushing yards and 50 touchdowns over his five years at the school.
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Backup Jake Browning struggled in relief of Burrow, completing eight of 14 pass attempts for 68 yards and one touchdown while taking three sacks. Considering he had no prior NFL experience before this season, the Bengals should absolutely be keen on finding a new starting QB.
The Bengals have nothing to lose at this point, and Cunningham could definitely make it work in their offense. With Joe Burrow, Tyler Boyd, Tee Higgins and Joe Mixon rounding out a prolific offensive unit, Cunningham just might get his NFL career going if the Bengals give him a chance.
