Where do Bengals, who had to lean on Jake Browning in 2023, land?
A cluster of teams are relying on 2021 first-rounders as QB2s.
Kirk Cousins and Andy Dalton are among the most decorated QB2s, both with multiple Pro Bowl nods to their credit.

Some NFL teams (and fans) treat them as afterthoughts. In other football cities, he might be the most popular guy on the squad and, according to some head coaches, the second-most important player on the roster.

He is, of course, the backup quarterback. Depending on his role, he might be a football messiah, mentor, nomad, reclamation project, has-been-who-might-have-something-left or some combination thereof.

Whatever the case may be, the QB2s are already stepping into the 2025 season’s spotlight – one of them forced into the starting lineup Sunday, and another, the Bengals’ Jake Browning, likely now facing the prospect of salvaging his team’s season now that leading man Joe Burrow is headed for surgery on his injured toe.

Heading into Week 3, when it seems quite feasible at least four (Burrow, Brock Purdy, J.J. McCarthy, Justin Fields) starting passers will be down league-wide, now feels like the right time to rank every team’s backup quarterback situation from best to worst:

1. New York Giants

Even with a temp, albeit one who played well Sunday afternoon, like Russell Wilson atop the depth chart, they have something of an ideal mix in reserve. Coming off a scintillating preseason, rookie Jaxson Dart is clearly the future here – and made his regular-season debut Sunday, taking three snaps in packages designed for him. The Giants’ brutal schedule seems likely to keep him next to coach Brian Daboll for a while. But whenever Dart gets in on a permanent basis, he’ll have Wilson – if he sticks around – and/or Jameis Winston, a beloved teammate who can still sling it, as veteran backstops.

2. Atlanta Falcons

After an up-and-down first season in the ATL, veteran Kirk Cousins is now nearly two years removed from an Achilles tear that short-circuited what was shaping as potentially his best season when he was still in Minnesota. A four-time Pro Bowler, few backups have Cousins’ bona fides … or his salary, which is $27.5 million for the 2025 season. He remains quite the valuable – literally and figuratively – insurance policy to second-year starter Michael Penix Jr., though probably one who’s too expensive to offload without extensive cap ramifications for both Atlanta plus any potential suitor. Veteran Easton Stick, who has four NFL starts, is on the practice squad.

3. San Francisco 49ers

Mac Jones made his Niners debut Sunday – four years later than some predicted for the 2021 Patriots first-rounder – in place of injured Purdy and had one of his best pro games (279 yards and 3 TDs passing) in a 26-21 victory at New Orleans. He’s expected to make a few more starts while Purdy recovers from an injured toe, though one that’s apparently in much better shape than Burrow’s. The Niners also have former UFL MVP Adrian Martinez in reserve and injured Kurtis Rourke and Carter Bradley in deep storage.

4. Kansas City Chiefs

5. Cincinnati Bengals

Even with Burrow likely out until December, don’t expect the team to make a drastic move – especially given this organization’s reluctance to execute trades or certainly its unwillingness to further stretch its salary cap after an offseason when WRs Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins and DE Trey Hendrickson all got paid, the latter after protracted negotiations. And given how well Browning ran this offense in 2023, it’s probably not necessary anyway. He led the league with a 70.4% completion rate two years ago and won four of seven starts, just shy of guiding Cincinnati back to the playoffs at a time when Burrow went down with a season-ending wrist injury. Browning scored the winning touchdown on a 1-yard dive Sunday, capping a largely uneven performance against Jacksonville, but will need to be on point moving forward as the Bengals’ next five opponents are against 2024 postseason outfits. Whether or not seventh-year vet Brett Rypien (4 NFL starts) is promoted from the practice squad, the team will need to add another arm at some point in order to get through the week and provide scout team looks.

6. Los Angeles Rams

Starter Matthew Stafford’s bad back has held up through two weeks, but LA seems fairly well prepared if he goes down. Veteran Jimmy Garoppolo earned two Super Bowl rings as Tom Brady’s backup in New England and made a Super Sunday start of his own for the 49ers five years ago. He is 33 and hasn’t played much since losing the QB1 gig in Las Vegas two seasons ago, but fair bet coach Sean McVay could maximize his best traits, typically solid accuracy and decision-making. If not, Stetson Bennett IV, who won two rings of his own while under center for the University of Georgia’s recent powerhouses, has shown quite a bit of potential in extensive preseason action after getting his personal life in order during his 2023 rookie season.

7. Baltimore Ravens

There’s no duplicating the inimitable Lamar Jackson, and the Ravens seemed to take a “why try?” approach this year. Baltimore signed Cooper Rush – he could hardly replicate Dak Prescott’s pedestrian athleticism in Dallas, much less Jackson’s – to an incentive-laden deal that will run the next two seasons. But Rush does know how to get the ball into the hands of playmakers – and the Ravens have plenty of those – something he usually did to great effect in Prescott’s absence, going 9-5 as Dallas’ fill-in QB1 since 2021. And in the event Rush isn’t up to the task in Charm City, practice squader Tyler “Snoop” Huntley got a (dubious) Pro Bowl nod in 2022, when he also started a playoff game in Jackson’s stead.

8. Indianapolis Colts

Daniel Jones won the starting nod here coming out of training camp and is now stunningly playing like the franchise quarterback the Giants hoped he was when they invested the No. 6 overall pick in him in 2019. Behind Jones is Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 pick just two years ago and a man with as much physical talent as any QB in the league. And while the raw, inexperienced and occasionally immature Richardson, 23, has yet to approach his ceiling, he’s still been good enough to win eight of his 15 NFL starts and is finally getting the opportunity to sit and learn without having to rehab an injury. Whether it ever clicks for him the way it currently is for Jones remain to be seen, but Richardson is hardly a slouch if his number gets called. Rookie Riley Leonard, who started last season’s national championship game for Notre Dame, is the third-stringer.

9. Minnesota Vikings

They hired Carson Wentz, who’s started 95 NFL games and been a member of two Super Bowl teams, as the Plan B QB behind first-year starter McCarthy, whose growing pains have been evident so far during two prime-time starts. And those pains have already progressed beyond the figurative, an ankle injury likely sending McCarthy to the bench for a few weeks. Undrafted rookie Max Brosmer also made the Vikes’ 53-man roster, a strong indication of how highly they think of him following a strong preseason.

10. Carolina Panthers

Three-time Pro Bowler Andy Dalton, 37, has filled in briefly for Bryce Young each of the past two seasons and played solidly in 14 starts for the Saints as recently as 2022. Hendon Hooker, 27, made a run at the 2022 Heisman Trophy before a torn ACL prematurely ended his college career. He latched on with the practice squad after failing to win the backup job in Detroit this summer.

11. Pittsburgh Steelers

Aaron Rodgers is 41 and was semi-regularly victimized by serious injuries even before blowing out his Achilles during his Jets debut in 2023. The Steelers are reasonably safeguarded with Mason Rudolph, who carried the team into the 2023 playoffs with a 3-0 regular-season flourish, back in the fold. Rookie Will Howard, who led Ohio State to last season’s national title while opposing Leonard in the CFP championship, is currently on injured reserve along with Skylar Thompson, who started a playoff game for Miami at the end of the 2022 season. Logan Woodside is on the practice squad as long as Pittsburgh needs him.

12. Seattle Seahawks

Drew Lock has 28 NFL starts, some of them tantalizingly impressive, which is why Seattle re-signed him after his 2024 hitch with the Giants. Rookie Jalen Milroe might be the future here – and perhaps part of the present given he has elite athleticism Lock and starter Sam Darnold don’t possess – but he’s probably at least two years away.

13. Buffalo Bills

If you watch “Hard Knocks,” then you’re aware that former Pro Bowler Mitch Trubisky’s mechanics have improved – he fired off a 32-yard completion in brief relief of Josh Allen on Sunday against the Jets. However Trubisky has started just seven games since leaving Chicago after the 2020 campaign and hasn’t exactly looked stellar in those opportunities. Down on the practice squad, Shane Buechele can only hope his extended exposure to Mahomes in Kansas City and Allen somehow rubs off, but he definitely understands from personal experience what a league MVP looks like.

14. Chicago Bears

No hot take here, but if Caleb Williams doesn’t play up to his potential in a relatively timely manner, don’t be surprised if rookie HC Ben Johnson gives recently extended third-year man Tyson Bagent, who threw 159 TD passes in college, an opportunity. Third-stringer Case Keenum, 37, who owns 66 NFL stars and an FBS record 155 TD passes himself, is the wise graybeard neither Williams nor Bagent really had to lean on in 2024.

15. Washington Commanders

Jayden Daniels, last season’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, is virtually irreplaceable … yet is also nursing a sprained knee. But fellow former Heisman winner Marcus Mariota can provide experience, athleticism and a steady hand for an extended stretch if called upon. Peripatetic third-stringer Josh Johnson, 39, has seen it all; practice squad inhabitant Sam Hartman hasn’t.

16. Las Vegas Raiders

They’re rolling rather deep behind recently obtained starter Geno Smith, 34. Former first-rounder Kenny Pickett and his 25 NFL starts were acquired last month after Aidan O’Connell fractured his throwing wrist in the preseason finale. Both have shown flashes though probably not enough that either will ever be a major threat to Smith. Journeyman Jeff Driskel and rookie Cam Miller reside on the practice squad.

17. New England Patriots

Understudies Joshua Dobbs, 30, and Tommy DeVito, 27, have both prominently displayed the ability to excel in spurts. Whether either could effectively supplant Drake Maye for a prolonged period is an open question.

18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

They boldly changed the depth chart behind Baker Mayfield last month by signing Teddy Bridgewater, 32, and stashing undrafted rookie Connor Bazelak on the practice squad. Bridgewater is 10 years removed from his only Pro Bowl nod and has only started twice since the start of the 2022 season. In terms of being a positive locker room presence, he’s almost incomparable.

19. Philadelphia Eagles

Third-year man Tanner McKee earned the second-string job behind Super Bowl 59 MVP Jalen Hurts after thriving in spot duty last season (plus the 2025 preseason) and rendering Pickett expendable. However the Eagles did swing a trade last month for Sam Howell, who led the league with 612 pass attempts two years ago in Washington … when he also served up an NFL-high 21 INTs. Rookie sixth-rounder Kyle McCord earned a practice squad slot.

20. Green Bay Packers

Malik Willis was a highly touted prospect entering the 2022 draft but never carved out much of an opportunity with the Titans. Yet he was excellent in two spot starts for the Pack last season, though he wasn’t asked to throw all that much. Third-stringer Clayton Tune had a forgettable start for Arizona in 2023.

21. Detroit Lions

After Hooker failed to develop, they’ve opted for a veteran-centric room led by starter Jared Goff, 30. Kyle Allen, 29, has 19 NFL starts, though just two since 2021. C.J. Beathard, 31, who has an excellent locker-room reputation, only has one start since 2021.

22. Arizona Cardinals

Jacoby Brissett has picked up 53 starts while bouncing around the league for a decade. Great guy but hardly even a remote Kyler Murray facsimile, and there’s simply no proof to the notion that Brissett can keep a playoff-caliber team afloat for the long run. Kedon Slovis, 24, is on his third NFL practice squad after playing for three college programs.

23. New York Jets

Tyrod Taylor had to take over for Fields on Sunday after the NYJ’s new QB1 entered the concussion protocol. Taylor, 36, a Pro Bowler in 2015, is 28-28-1 as an NFL starter but hasn’t been one with regularity since 2017. He’s smart and protects the football but also has a propensity to get injured himself. Undrafted rookie Brady Cook is currently Plan C for the Jets.

24. Jacksonville Jaguars

Devil-may-care gunslinger Nick Mullens, who can be alternately spectacular and cringeworthy, is the new Trevor Lawrence fallback. Undrafted rookie Seth Henigan is on the practice squad.

25. Denver Broncos

Even though he’s had limited regular-season run in six NFL seasons, coaches tend to rave about Jarrett Stidham. Third-stringer Sam Ehlinger is similarly unproven.

26. Houston Texans

Drafted in 2021, Davis Mills has 25 middling-at-best NFL starts. Rookie Graham Mertz is behind him.

27. Miami Dolphins

Drafted (highly) in 2021, Zach Wilson has 33 NFL starts that were mostly sub-middling. Rookie Quinn Ewers is behind him.

28. Los Angeles Chargers

Drafted (highly) in 2021, Trey Lance has all of five NFL starts and remains a largely unknown commodity on this third team. Rookie DJ Uiagalelei was a five-star recruit who never lived up to that billing with three college programs, but his potential has earned him another shot on the Bolts’ practice squad.

29. Tennessee Titans

Ninth-year pro Brandon Allen has been around the block, albeit with limited personal success. His most important job might be as a sounding board for this year’s No. 1 pick, Cam Ward. The same probably also goes for Trevor Siemian, also in his ninth season and holding it down on the practice squad. Last year’s starter, Will Levis, is out for the year following surgery on his throwing shoulder.

30. Dallas Cowboys

If potential was the measuring stick, Joe Milton would be near the top of this list. But since experience is a major factor, he’ll likely need a lot more of it before the Cowboys should feel confident he can step in as effectively for Prescott as Rush did so many times in recent years. Will Grier is back for another stint on the practice squad.

31. Cleveland Browns

Arguably the most talked about QB room in the league, it jettisoned Pickett this summer, when rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders also nursed injuries and didn’t do nearly enough to unseat former Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. Gabriel got some snaps in Sunday’s blowout loss at Baltimore, and it stands to reason that both he and Sanders will get more looks in the coming weeks to show if they have any staying power. ICYMI, Bailey Zappe and his nine NFL starts made the practice squad. In case you forgot, Deshaun Watson (PUP list) is technically still on this team, too, rehabbing multiple tears of the same Achilles.

32. New Orleans Saints

Wouldn’t be a shock at all if rookie Tyler Shough and/or third-year man Jake Haener (practice squad) get to play extensively in 2025. But given neither could beat out Spencer Rattler to start the opener … yeah, seems likely the Saints will be QB-focused going into the 2026 draft.

Can A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces be stopped?

That’s the question on the Seattle Storm’s mind after suffering a 102-77 Game 1 loss to the Aces on Sunday in Las Vegas, extending the Aces’ win streak to 17 consecutive games. The series now shifts to Seattle for Game 2. With a win, the Aces would advance to the semifinals for the seventh consecutive season and tie the league’s longest win streak (18). It was set by Lisa Leslie and the WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks in 2001.

Wilson and company aren’t concerned about the streak. They want to win their third title in four years.

‘In my eyes, the streak was over when the regular season ended,’ said Wilson, who had 29 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks vs. the Storm in Game 1. ‘We have a whole new thing we have to start cooking here. And that’s what I am going to hold up to my teammates every single day.’

It’s safe to say the Aces were cooking Sunday. They shot 50.7% from the field and 14-of-29 from 3, continuing their barrage of 3-pointers after setting a regular-season record (22) in the regualr-season finale on Sept. 11. Jackie Young added 18 points and seven assists in the Game 1 win. Jewell Loyd had 14 off the bench.

WNBA PLAYOFFS WINNERS, LOSERS: Las Vegas Aces dominate, Alyssa Thomas falters

ACES VS. STORM, GAME 1: Las Vegas dominates Seattle in Game 1 of WNBA playoff series

Gabby Williams had a team-high 16 points and three rebounds for the Storm. Skylar Diggins and Dominique Malonga each added 12 points in the losing effort. The Storm were swept by the Aces in the 2024 WNBA playoffs and must pick up a win at home to keep their season alive. That’s easier said than done, as the Storm are the only team in the postseason with a losing record at home (10-12) this season.

Here’s everything you need to know about Game 2 between the Aces and Storm:

What time is Las Vegas Aces at Seattle Storm?

The Seattle Storm host the Las Vegas Aces at 9:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. PT) on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

How to watch Las Vegas Aces at Seattle Storm: TV, stream

Time: 9:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. PT)
Location: Climate Pledge Arena (Seattle)
TV channel: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN+, Disney+, Fubo (free trial to new subscribers)

Aces vs. Storm WNBA Playoffs schedule

Game 1: Aces 102, Storm 77
Game 2: Aces at Storm, 9:30 ET Tuesday (ESPN)
Game 3: Storm at Aces, TBD Thursday (ESPN2)

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The Philadelphia Eagles’ ‘Tush Push’ play proved highly effective in their victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Chiefs players and coaches suggested that Eagles linemen committed uncalled false starts on the play.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni countered that Chiefs defenders were frequently lining up in the neutral zone.

KANSAS CITY, MO – Let the debate continue.

There was no dispute about the effectiveness of the weapon the Philadelphia Eagles possess with their so-called “Tush Push” short-yardage play during their 20-17 victory in the Super Bowl 59 rematch on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. Philadelphia lined up seven times for the rugby scrum of a quarterback sneak for Jalen Hurts and the results included what turned out as the game-deciding touchdown and a game-sealing first down.

But the devil is definitely dancing in the details. Just stop it?

‘You try to get penetration and be able to stop it, but that’s a pretty rough one,’ Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. ‘I might (have) had a couple of them that they got off a little early on, but we’ll look at that.’

Replays showed that on Hurts’ one-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, two Eagles linemen appeared to get an early jump on the snap – without drawing a flag from officials. And the Chiefs maintained that such apparent false starts happened repeatedly.

Here we go again. The play that was nearly banned during the offseason – a Green Bay Packers proposal to nullify the play fell two votes shy of the 24 needed from owners in May – remains a serious point of contention.

‘You can’t get all the calls right,’ Chris Jones, the Chiefs’ all-pro defensive tackle, said. ‘Just because we see it, sometimes the official is 15 to 20 feet away and sometimes they can miss those small things. We think he jumped multiple times. The official didn’t see it, so it wasn’t called. We just have to go play the next down.’

Jones was hardly surprised by this issue. He contends that in preparing to play the Eagles, similar cases showed up repeatedly in film study.

‘It happens,’ he said. ‘People jump all the time. If the officials see it, they’ll call it. I don’t think they saw it those few plays and we didn’t get the call.’

Of course, conflicting perspectives clash in the trenches with this. When the Chiefs’ concerns were relayed, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni countered that officials could have called Kansas City for lining up offsides more than the one occasion it was flagged for early in the game.

‘I would argue that they were in the neutral zone a lot and taking every inch that they had,’ said Sirianni, mindful that Chiefs defensive end Charles Omenihu drew a five-yard offsides penalty on the opening drive of the game.

‘They called the first one to back them up. I didn’t think they necessarily backed up, but it is what it is. They’re going to do other things to try to stop that and I don’t want to get too much into it, but they’re doing everything they can do. So, it’s a little bit of gamesmanship on both sides with that. We know, though, that we have to be perfect with it. With how we come off the football, timing it up, all those different things.’

Proponents for banning the play have raised concern about injury risks, although the NFL’s competition committee contends that injury data doesn’t bear out the notion that the pileup plays increase injury risk.

As illustrated in the Super Bowl 59 rematch, the more significant bone of contention may come with consistently officiating the ‘Brotherly Shove.’

The final sequence on Sunday cast light on the difficulty of spotting the football amid the mass of bodies as Hurts was ruled shy of the first-down marker by six inches – with an assist from the NFL’s new virtual measurement technology – on a second-and-one play.

The next play, with about 1 ½ minutes remaining, had more gray area as it ended with Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill emerging from the pack with the football and Kansas City players indicating that a fumble was recovered. Replays showed that Hurts had maintained possession as he went down in the pile, but you may have had to be in the pile to know exactly when the quarterback was ruled down or that his progress was stopped.

Even Dean Blandino, the former head of NFL officiating who serves as rules analyst for Fox Sports, was taken aback.

‘I’m done with the ‘Tush Push,’ guys,’ Blandino said on the broadcast. ‘It’s a hard play to officiate.’

Which only increases the odds for more debate.

Contact Jarrett Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on social media: On X: @JarrettBell. On Bluesky: jarrettbell.bsky.social

The injury-plagued Indiana Fever have been resilient all season long, but the Fever find themselves with their backs are against the wall yet again.

The No. 6 seed Fever dropped Game 1 against the No. 3 seed Atlanta Dream 80-68, despite a 27-point performance from veteran guard Kelsey Mitchell. The Fever now must win Game 2 of the best-of-three first-round WNBA playoff series on Tuesday to keep their Cinderella season alive.

‘We shot ourselves in the foot and weren’t able to capitalize on the things that make us great,’ Mitchell said after the Game 1 loss. ‘We hurt ourselves in a lot of different areas that impact being able to make plays and do what we wanted on the offensive end. Once we stop doing that, we give ourselves more of a chance to be who we are.’

It wasn’t a particularly great shooting night for either team. The Fever were held to 34.9% from the field and 2-of-15 from beyond the arc, compared to Atlanta going 38.6% from the field with seven made 3s.

WNBA PLAYOFFS WINNERS, LOSERS: Las Vegas Aces dominate, Alyssa Thomas falters

DREAM VS. FEVER, GAME 1: Dream pull away from Fever in Game 1 of WNBA playoffs 2025

Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard each scored 20 points for the Dream. Naz Hillmon added 16 points and nine rebounds, while Brionna Jones had 12 points and three steals in the win.

Here’s what you need to know now about Game 2 between the Dream and Fever:

What time is Atlanta Dream at Indiana Fever?

The Indiana Fever host the Atlanta Dream at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT) on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

How to watch Indiana Fever at Atlanta Dream: TV, stream

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT)
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis)
TV channel: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN+, Disney+, Fubo (free trial to new subscribers)

Dream vs. Fever WNBA playoffs schedule

Game 1: Dream 80, Fever 68
Game 2: Mercury at Fever, 7:30 p.m. ET Tuesday (ESPN)
Game 3: Fever at Mercury, TBD Thursday (ESPN2)

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

ESPN announcer Chris Fowler sounded unwell during the beginning of the ‘Monday Night Football’ broadcast.
Fowler’s voice appeared to improve as the first quarter of the Raiders-Chiefs game progressed.
The announcer has had a busy schedule between his college football and US Open responsibilities.

The nightcap of the Week 2 ‘Monday Night Football’ doubleheader featured ESPN announcer Chris Fowler on the mic flanked by analysts Louis Riddick and Dan Orlovsky.

Fowler, the network’s top voice on college football but has added the NFL to his portfolio as ESPN’s acquired more standalone games, didn’t sound like himself during the opening. His voice improved during the first quarter, but observers noted he sounded under the weather 48 hours after he and Kirk Herbstreit called Georgia’s victory over Tennessee.

It has been a busy month for Fowler. In addition to his weekly college football responsibilities, he is the main voice for the US Open, a competition that kept him busy during the end of August and beginning of September.

Chris Fowler schedule

The US Open ran from Aug. 24-Sept. 7. While Fowler wasn’t on the call every day (Saturdays, for example), he worked plenty of match days, including the men’s final on Sept. 7.

That was right after flying overnight from Oklahoma-Michigan during Week 2 of college football. In Week 1, he called LSU-Clemson. And on Saturday Sept. 13, he had the Georgia-Tennessee top-15 matchup, which went into overtime.

All to say Fowler has been quite occupied over the last few weeks.

Joe Burrow has won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award twice due to multiple significant injuries in his career.
Burrow’s latest toe injury is expected to sideline him for a minimum of three months, impacting the Bengals’ season.
The Bengals have allocated a large portion of their salary cap to Burrow and his top wide receivers.

“I wouldn’t say this is necessarily an award you want to be nominated for two times,” Burrow said while holding the trophy at the NFL Honors in New Orleans. “But I’m proud of the work that I put in to come back from these injuries that I seem to face every year.”

It was somewhat of a sobering reminder of the string of injuries Burrow’s endured during his career.

Burrow suffered a season-ending knee injury that limited him to 10 games his rookie year. He won his first comeback player of the year award and led the Bengals to a Super Bowl 56 appearance the following season. In 2023, he sustained a season-ending wrist injury in Week 11. The very next year Burrow led the league is passing yards and touchdown passes.

Joe Burrow injury timeline dates back to before his rookie season

Season six for Burrow. It’s a toe injury that’s expected to require surgery. He’ll miss a minimum of three months.

It’s not quite a season-ending injury, but it might be. The best-case scenario has Burrow returning around mid-December.

Burrow’s injury is a brutal blow for a 2-0 Bengals team with Super Bowl aspirations. But the Bengals and Burrow both share some culpability with the predicament they are in.

The Bengals acquiesced to Burrow’s public plea to re-sign wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to lucrative deals. They are the highest-paid receiver duo in the NFL. Combine Burrow’s five-year, $275 million deal that he signed in 2023, the Bengals are allocating approximately $124 million a year for three players. Bengals brass even agreed to give defensive end Trey Hendrickson a revised one-year contract after some nudging from Burrow.

The Bengals’ choice to pay Burrow, Chase, Higgins and Hendrickson at the top of the market for their respective positions has handicapped the team’s ability to build around them.

Safety Jessie Bates and running back Joe Mixon were on Cincinnati’s squad that advanced to Super Bowl 56. They are no longer in town.

The Bengals have also not been able to effectively protect Burrow throughout his career. According to ESPN research, the Bengals pass block win rate has ranked 27th in the NFL or worst since Burrow entered the league in 2020.

Burrow was sacked a league-high 51 times in 2021. He’s been sacked at least 41 times in every season he’s played at least 16 games. Some of the sacks are on Burrow. He does have a tendency at times to hold onto the football in an attempt to extend plays, though, the O-line has routinely been among the league’s worst units.

After the Bengals made Burrow their top pick in the 2020 draft, the team selected Higgins the very next round (33 overall) instead of building upfront with a player like guard Robert Hunt who went No. 39 overall. Hunt was elected to the Pro Bowl last year.

The Bengals used their first-round pick on Chase instead of tackle Penei Sewell in the 2021 draft. Chase and Sewell are both All-Pros.

Granted, the Bengals did select tackle Amarius Mims in the first round of the 2024 draft and recently signed veteran guard Dalton Risner. The jury is still out on Mims.

But the Bengals invested heavily on quarterback and wide receiver. The rest of the roster has holes. The holes are glaring on defense and along the offensive line. Burrow’s injury is a cumulative effect of that.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.

You couldn’t keep Tom Brady off the football field forever.

The seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback’s post-playing days have treated him nicely. Brady quickly found a spot in the broadcast booth with FOX, serving on the network’s top team as an analyst. He continued to increase his influence by acquiring an ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders.

Now Brady is dusting off the cleats to play in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, according to a statement obtained by USA TODAY Sports on Monday.

“I couldn’t be more excited to return to the field, get the competitive juices flowing alongside some of the game’s brightest stars and iconic legends, and bring a truly unique global sports event to fans everywhere during Riyadh Season,’ Brady said about his return to football.

Flag football is set to debut as a new event at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and continues to increase in popularity. Brady, who retired in 2023, will play a key role in the upcoming tournament.

‘I have always admired the power of flag football and how it connects fans of all ages, and it’s awesome to be able to showcase the sport on such a global stage while joining together so many incredibly skilled athletes,’ Brady added. ‘I’m looking forward to partnering with Turki Alalshikh, Fanatics, OBB Media, my team at Shadow Lion and my friends at FOX Sports to showcase some fierce competition. And I will be bringing home the trophy.’

The competitive flag football tournament is set to take place on March 21, 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the Kingdom Arena. It features a star-studded list of NFL players who will participate.

Saquon Barkley, CeeDee Lamb, Christian McCaffrey, Sauce Gardner, Myles Garrett, Brock Bowers, Maxx Crosby, Tyreek Hill, Odell Beckham Jr. and Rob Gronkowski are among the participants for the three teams of eight players. The format is a round-robin tournament, with the top two teams competing for a championship.

Additional players will be announced in the coming months. According to the statement, those players will be from across the sports and entertainment industries.

Sean Payton, Kyle Shanahan and Pete Carroll are set to serve as the coaches for the teams.

While the focus remains squarely on Brady’s return to football, he isn’t ready to commit to playing the Olympics just yet.

‘We’ll see,’ Brady told reporters when asked if he would play in the 2028 games. ‘Let’s see how this game goes.’

Brady also pointed out that he thinks there will be plenty of interest in the event going forward.

‘I think there’s a lot of people gonna want to be involved in the Olympics, especially because football players have never had an opportunity to do that,’ Brady said. ‘It’s quite a ways away. I think for me it’s just exciting, I still love throwing the football.’

This tournament follows Olympic-style flag football rules, the statement indicates. Games will be played on a 50-yard field with two 10-yard end zones, a 5-on-5 format and two 20-minute halves.

All the action is set to be broadcast on FOX Sports and Tubi, Fox’s free streaming service, with more details being revealed in the coming months.

Several major sports leagues and teams held moments of silence for conservative commentator Charlie Kirk following his death.
Sports are often seen as a unifying force in society, but these memorials widened national divisions, Armour writes.
The White House commended the sports organizations for honoring Kirk, stating the tributes reflected admiration for his work.

In our most troubled, turbulent times, sports have been our healer. They’ve been a source of comfort and unity, one of the few places we know we’ll find common ground with our fellow Americans.

Not this past weekend, however.

With their moments of silence for Charlie Kirk, the NFL, NASCAR, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs and some college football teams chose to glorify someone whose career was built on driving this country apart.

One of the beauties of sports is the idea that they are the great equalizer. Your color, gender, sexual orientation, how much money you have — it all becomes irrelevant when you step on the field. It’s your physical skill, determination and ability to play well with others that matters.

It’s why parents put their kids in sports at an early age, to help teach them the life lessons of commitment, cooperation and resilience. It’s why many of us continue to play as adults, a means of connecting with people we might otherwise not.

And it’s why we’re drawn to sports in the worst of times. They are our communal bond, a reminder that we’re stronger together than apart. They offer us a way to move forward — if we want it.

“The U.S. could learn a lot from our locker room. I think the people in this world could learn a lot from our locker room. You walk into our locker room, and you’ve got guys of different races, guys of different backgrounds, different religions. And you’ve got a team that loves each other,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said when he was asked about Kirk’s killing after Saturday’s game.

“Tons of differences, tons of differences. Where they come from, what they deal with. And, ultimately, you’ve got a team that loves each other,” Lanning said. “I think we’re missing some of that in our country.”

It cannot be one-sided, however, and that’s why the memorials to Kirk were so problematic.

Kirk did not simply disagree with people who looked, loved and believed differently than he did. He demonized and ridiculed them and did what he could to make their lives hell.

He denied the intelligence of former First Lady Michelle Obama and Supreme Court justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, among other rivals, saying that the Black women lacked the “brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a White person’s slot.”

He said the Civil Rights Act was a “huge mistake.”

Kirk pushed for women to return to the stereotypical, stifling roles of the 1950s, telling Taylor Swift after she got engaged that she should “submit” to her husband. He also told the billionaire pop star, recognized as both one of the best songwriters of her generation and the savviest businesswoman, that “you’re not in charge.”

Kirk mocked Islam, promoted the racist Great Replacement theory, opposed same-sex marriage and said some gun deaths were “worth it” to preserve the Second Amendment. He said then-President Joe Biden should be “put in prison and/or given the death penalty for his crimes against America.”

(It’s telling that none of the tributes to Kirk included things he actually said.)

And though Kirk styled himself as a champion of free speech, he created an enemies list of college professors he disagreed with. The harassment some of these educators were then subjected to was so bad they feared for their safety. He proclaimed to be a Christian, yet too many of his words and deeds were the exact opposite of what Christ preached.

This brand of ugliness is tearing our country apart, and everyone — Democrat or Republican, red state or blue state — should be condemning it at full throat. Instead, Kirk was treated like a venerable statesman before several sporting events over the weekend.

‘These tributes reflect the widespread admiration for Kirk’s dedication to inspiring the next generation of American Patriots,’ the White House said in a statement Monday. ‘We commend these organizations for honoring a figure who championed the values that unite us all, and we join the nation in celebrating his legacy.’

The White House, and Kirk’s followers, see him in a way so many others do not. In a way that does not reflect what he actually stood for. The tributes and public memorials might have comforted his followers, but the same cannot be said for the rest of the country.

Sports has the power to bridge our country’s divides. These memorials to Kirk at sporting events only served to widen them.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

(This column has been updated with additional information.)