Will Joe Burrow play today’s game against the Texans? (Getty Images)
Joe Burrow came out of Cincinnati’s Week 1 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with something he did not feel during the game itself. Back tightness crept up in the hours after the Bengals’ 33-27 win, and by Wednesday, Burrow was listed as limited on the practice report. Last season’s turf toe started in Week 2. A wrist injury ended his 2023 campaign in Week 11.
The franchise quarterback has missed significant time in three of his six NFL seasons, was forced out for most of last season due to a toe injury suffered in Week 2, and is understandably the most valuable player in the Bengals’ organization.
He dismissed the idea of sitting out for precautionary reasons as flat-out “ridiculous,” and made clear he has no intention of missing the game. “I think every game is important,” Burrow said at his Wednesday press conference. Burrow said he is unsure whether he will be able to practice for the full week, but he called it “ridiculous” to think the back issue would force him to sit out Sunday’s game.
For a quarterback with his medical history, even a minor entry on the injury report is enough to get fans in Cincinnati holding their breath. Sunday’s road trip to Houston now carries a small but real layer of uncertainty around it. “I’ll do what it takes to be out there. If I’m not having surgery, I’ll be out there. This is where the question gets a bit more layered. Burrow’s injury history is a sensitive subject in Cincinnati. That’s the part that sits in the back of every Bengals fan’s mind, no matter how confident Burrow sounds. The pattern of early-season setbacks is hard to ignore, even if Wednesday’s back tightness looks far less serious.
Yes, Joe Burrow will play against the Houston Texans today.