Regardless of whether it was nothing or something, the Cincinnati Bengals did themselves no favors by deleting footage they had posted to the team website showing quarterback Joe Burrow deplaning in Baltimore on Wednesday afternoon.
Deleting the footage fueled speculation Burrow was dealing with a wrist injury even before Thursday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, and that scrutiny intensified after he was forced out of the game following a simple four-yard touchdown pass.
So you better believe the NFL is going to have questions about whether Burrow’s wrist was injured — and unreported — before the game.
Did the Bengals Violate Injury Report Rules?
“Not that I’m aware of,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said when asked if Burrow was dealing with anything before the game.
Before this explodes into some GloveGate controversy, there are a couple of things worth considering.
First and foremost is what Taylor mentioned in his postgame news conference, that someone fell on Burrow’s wrist prior to the touchdown pass. That someone was Baltimore edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney, who registered a quarterback hit on Burrow’s nine-yard pass to Joe Mixon on the play immediately before the TD pass.
Here's the play where Joe Burrow appears to have hurt his wrist after being hit by Jadeveon Clowneypic.twitter.com/OsZ8nvagzE
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365)
It could have been that Burrow did not realize how badly it was bothering him until he unleashed the full force and torque of a throw, even if it was a short one.
After a brief stint in the blue medical tent, Burrow dropped the ball while trying to throw a warmup pass, and he was ruled out for the rest of the game a short time after that.
The second part to consider is the footage itself — pictures and video of Burrow deplaning with a black brace or sleeve on his right wrist while carrying his iPad. There are devices that look similar to what Burrow was wearing that are sold as tablet accessories for drawing on the touch screen.
MORE: Cincinnati Bengals Observations From a Devastating 34-20 Loss to the Baltimore Ravens
With the short week and condensed workload, it would not be surprising if Burrow was still going over game film and making notes on the flight to Baltimore.
Why would the Bengals delete the footage? Microsoft has a deal with the NFL for the Surface to be the tablet of the league. It’s not as though players can’t use iPads, but a team website posting a photo of a player carrying a competitor’s product could have been the reason for spiking the footage.
It better be.
There are repercussions, possibly as extreme as losing a draft pick, for violating the league’s injury report policies, and it’s hard to believe the Bengals would expose themselves to such a risk.
Earlier this season, the NFL investigated the Atlanta Falcons for not listing running back Bijan Robinson with an illness on the injury report. Robinson had just one carry in the game and told reporters afterward the reason was that he had not been feeling well.
In 2019, the NFL fined the Pittsburgh Steelers $75,000 and head coach Mike Tomlin $25,000 for not accurately listing quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the injury report. That was a major jump from the $20,000 fine the Raiders received for violating the injury report policies the season before.
The loss of a draft pick would be extreme, but this would be a blatant flouting of the rule if the Bengals are found to be guilty.
The NFL is looking into it, per a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Friday morning.
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