September 17th, 2025
By Stephen Juza
So much for our MVP pick. Less than two weeks into the season, our preseason MVP pick has been sidelined for several months with an impending toe surgery. The two-time Comeback Player of the Year suffered the injury in the first half of Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, an eventual 31-27 victory for the Bengals. But it will likely serve as a pyrrhic victory in a year we anticipated the team to win the AFC North. What does this mean for the Bengals? In today’s article, we look at possible impacts for the 2025 season for the team, and what it means for Burrow’s future.
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Roster Changes
With only one other quarterback on the roster, the Bengals will have to add someone else to the quarterback room immediately. They activated Brett Rypien from the practice squad and signed a few others, but if they want more talent, they will have to look elsewhere. There are a few teams who have a surplus of quarterbacks, and the Bengals could look to trade for one. One stumbling block to several names on the market is that the team is in ‘win-now’ mode, and it’s not likely that there is a quarterback available that could keep the ship sailing in the interim.
Possible options include Anthony Richardson, Kirk Cousins, but Richardson is on a rookie contract and cheap for the Colts to hold on to, and Cousins is very expensive and probably not worth the cost. Another option could be Jameis Winston, currently on the New York Giants. While the Giants have Russell Wilson as the starter, and Jaxson Dart as the quarterback of the future, Winston could be the easiest quarterback to pry away from another team.
Impact to the Season
Three months puts Burrow returning for a Week 17 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. If his recovery is quicker, he will return for at least one of the pivotal matchups against the Baltimore Ravens. Before the season started, the Bengals three-game stretch from Week 13 to Week 16 was going to be the most important stretch for the season. Starting on the road against the defending AFC North champion Ravens, on the road against the defending AFC East champion Buffalo Bills, then hosting the Ravens would prove to everyone who the Bengals were as the season was coming to an end.
Now, the Bengals are going to likely hope for a Wildcard appearance and hope for a full-strength Burrow by the end of December. Anything short of a playoff run may not be enough for head coach Zac Taylor. In his first six seasons in Cincinnati, the team has finished third or fourth in the division four times. As much as fans want him back, Taylor may need a healthy Burrow to return for the 2026 season.
Impact to Burrow
Burrow is already in the unfortunate position of being one of the few two-time winners of the Comeback Player of the Year award, but this injury may put him in line for yet another award in 2026. But that’s only if he can remain healthy and on the field, which he has struggled with in his career. In his six seasons, he has only played more than ten games three times.
When he has played, he is a player who you can build around, and with his monster contract he signed it’s clear that he will be in Cincinnati for a few more years at least. But this latest injury will raise the question if Burrow will be someone you can count on long term. If you are building around a player, you have to count on him being in the lineup. He will have missed 26 games since the 2020 season, and when you compare him to other top quarterbacks, there is simply no comparison in durability. Bills quarterback has not missed a game during that timeframe. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has missed three. Lamar Jackson has missed twelve.
Overall, the Bengals will have a difficult road in front of them for the 2025 season, and if Burrow continues to miss time, they may have some tough questions ahead.