Following a season-opening 16-10 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 1, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow spent Wednesday downplaying and denying concern that he has not fully healed from the wrist injury that ended his 2023 season, which was sparked by everything from analysis of his throws to a more niche and strange fixation over how he picked up a water bottle on the sidelines.
Television cameras picked up Burrow, at one point while sitting on the Bengals’ bench, awkwardly picking up a water bottle in a manner that it sparked fear from fans online that his wrist was still causing him discomfort. That fixation was news to Burrow, who responded to a line of questioning over the video with a mix of bewilderment and amusement.
“What did I do? I picked it up weird?”, Burrow asked a reporter who posed a question to him, before being asked if he felt like he picked up the bottle strangely. “I don’t know, I drank water. I can’t say I’ve seen that or know what anybody’s talking about.”
Week 1 marked Burrow’s return to the field for the first time since Week 11 of the 2023 season, when he suffered a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist during a game against the Baltimore Ravens. Burrow was forced to miss the remainder of the season and had surgery in late November of that year.
