Joe Burrow, the top pick in the 2020 NFL draft and clubhouse favorite to win rookie of the year honors, will finish his first season in the league on the sidelines after suffering a torn ACL in Sunday’s game against the Washington Redskins.
The injury looked quite painful in real time, as Burrow’s leg twisted, buckled and crumpled awkwardly as he was sacked early in the third quarter. He was in obvious pain on the field while being tended to by trainers, and he was eventually carted off the field. You can see video of the injury below, and while it’s not as bad as Joe Theismann’s injury, it’s not a great watch if you’re squeamish.
This Joe Burrow injury is brutal. It pops out and then back in. 🥴 pic.twitter.com/AMWVZvgIud
— Joseph Cecena (@joe2strong) November 22, 2020
Burrow will undergo an MRI later today to determine the full extent of the injury, but it’s already been reported that he’s suffered an ACL tear and that there may be additional damage. Burrow himself seemed to confirm the severity of his injury and that he’s out for the remainder of the year, as he tweeted Sunday night, “Thanks for all the love. Can’t get rid of me that easy. See ya next year.”
Dr. Silverman Comments
Ouch, that look like it hurt.
We’ll know more about the extent of his injury after the MRI results come in, but we can take some educated guesses about what happened to his knee based on the mechanisms involved and our experience with these types of injuries.
This is a valgus injury with axial load, which results in the knee buckling inward. Depending on the axis of rotation, these forces can typically lead to ACL tears, MCL tears and even a tibial plateau fracture. Let’s take a closer look at both potential injuries:
ACL/MCL Tears – An ACL and MCL tear involves a very long recovery. The injury is well understood and can be carefully managed. It does tend to have good results when addressed surgically, but it’s important to remember that it doesn’t always return the player to their pre-existing level of ability. Now, Burrow isn’t a super mobile quarterback, but it’s not solely about mobility and function, it’s also about his confidence in his knee. If he’s hesitant or protective of that knee going forward, it could impact his game. He needs to work to recover both physically and mentally from this injury.
Tibial Plateau Fracture – This involves a fracture in the upper portion of the tibia, the uppermost bone that connects to the knee. These fractures can come in many different forms, like displaced, non-displaced, transverse or comminuted. Even when treated successfully, this type of injury can lead to long term flexibility loss and arthritis. The fact that a fracture hasn’t yet been confirmed is good news, but this injury tends to occur in conjunction with ligament and nerve damage, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he also suffered a tibial fracture alongside the suspected ACL tear.
Burrow is clearly out for the year, but we’ll want to keep tabs on the official MRI results. The fact that he is young and strong will help him in his rehab, but this type of injury isn’t guaranteed to fully resolve just with time and physical therapy. He’ll need a little bit of luck on his side to regain full strength and confidence in his knee. Good luck Joey B, we’re rooting for you.