A well-known sports medicine doctor has provided concerning injury analysis on Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow.
The No. 1 pick of the 2020 NFL Draft suffered a torn ligament in the wrist of his right throwing hand back in Week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens. Burrow underwent surgery that ended his season.
Jesse Morse, a sports medicine physician based in Miami, provided an in-depth look at Burrow’s torn ligament injury. Morse noted that Burrow’s injury is “worse” than initially believed, and it’s possible that Cincy’s star QB will never be at 100 percent again:
“Initially it was speculated that it was a TFCC complex tear, but unfortunately it was worse, the dreaded scapholunate ligament complex tear.
This ligament is very important for the stability of the wrist, and since this/most ligaments have a poor blood supply it needed to be repaired…
He should be cleared to throw by mid-May, on par with OTAs, which is on track assuming no setbacks. Will he ever be the same QB he was before the injury? Unfortunately we don’t know, although I can say he is at increased risk for new compensating injuries.”
Morse sought the opinion of an orthopedic hand surgeon, who stated that this is the first occasion they know of where a professional quarterback suffered such an injury. Here’s what the specialist told morse:
“It’s a bad injury to have, invariably always lead to some instability over time and arthritis at an earlier age. 80% of normal strength and range of motion is common. Hard to do ‘dart throwers motion,’ which is important for snapping the wrist in the follow through when throwing. But these guys are super human, so I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
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For what it’s worth, the Pro Bowl signal-caller told ESPN’s Ben Baby that he expects to get the thumbs up for full contact by mid-May.
After a sluggish 1-3 start, Burrow rallied the Bengals and helped them improve to 5-4 before his season-ending injury. In 10 games, Burrow completed 66.8 percent of his pass attempts for 2,309 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Second-stringer Jake Browning played well in relief of Burrow, winning four of seven starts while throwing for 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The Bengals salvaged a 9-8 record without Browning, but they fell one game short of the postseason.
