CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will not require surgery on his right knee injured in Super Bowl LVI but will require off-season rehab, according to reports from NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
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Burrow was hurt when he was sacked in the second half of the Bengals loss in the Super Bowl. Initial tests following the game indicate the star quarterback will not require surgery but the injury, described as a sprain, shouldn’t “drastically alter his offseason,” Rapoport reports.
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#Bengals QB Joe Burrow suffered a knee injury in the Super Bowl that won't require surgery, sources say, based on initial tests. He’ll have to rehab, but the sprain shouldn’t drastically alter his offseason.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 15, 2022
The knee injured in the Super Bowl, his right knee, was not the one injured in the 2020 season when Burrow tore ligaments in his left knee in a game against The Washington Football Team.
Burrow was sacked 70 times during the 2021 season, including seven times in the Super Bowl and nine times in the AFC Divisional round against the Tennessee Titans. The 70 sacks on the year was the third-most in NFL history, including both regular season and postseason games, according to Pro Football Focus.
Not including the sacks Burrow was hit a lot as well throughout the season, as tight end C.J. Uzomah told ProFootball Talk.
“You don’t want your quarterback to get hit one time, let alone how many times it was, not even counting the things that weren’t sacks but just hits in general,” Uzomah said. “It has been tough. You don’t want to see your franchise quarterback get hit as many times as he did. That is probably going to be a point of emphasis coming up.”
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Burrow was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year for his season coming off the 2020 injury, behind an offensive line that most pundits considered substandard.
The offseason focus for the Bengals seems rather clear: improve the offensive line through the draft and free agency to protect Burrow better.
Last year the Bengals faced a decision in the draft, pick highly-rated offensive lineman Penei Sewell out of Oregon with the fifth overall pick, or improve the offensive weapons with wide receiver Ja’marr Chase.
The Bengals chose Chase, who was named the NFL Rookie of the Year and was an instrumental part of getting the Bengals to the Super Bowl.
Bengals fans will likely be eager throughout the entire offseason to see the moves the team makes to shore up the line ahead of defending their AFC title.
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