Ben BabySep 17, 2025, 03:07 PM ET
- Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
CINCINNATI -- There's still hope that Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow could potentially play again this season.
On Wednesday, Bengals coach Zac Taylor didn't eliminate the possibility of Burrow suiting up for the team later in the season. Burrow was officially placed on injured reserve Tuesday and is expected to miss three months following surgery to repair a turf toe injury he suffered Sept. 14.
But Taylor was very firm in saying he hadn't shut the door on Burrow returning to the active roster following his mandated minimum absence.
"At least the next four weeks," Taylor said, referencing the time on the injured reserve list. "That's the best I can give you."
As of Wednesday afternoon, Taylor did not have a timetable on when Burrow was going to have surgery to repair the turf toe in his left foot.
Burrow was injured in the first half of the team's 31-27 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jake Browning will be the starting quarterback for the Bengals' game this week against the Minnesota Vikings.
Cincinnati is looking for its first 3-0 start since 2015.
"These guys have a lot of confidence in themselves and each other, a lot of confidence in Jake," Taylor said. "Our focus right now is being three-and-oh."
Browning will have plenty of familiarity with his first opponent this season.
After going undrafted out of the University of Washington in 2019, Browning spent the first two years in the NFL on Minnesota's practice squad. He did not make the team's initial 53-man roster in 2021 and was picked up by the Bengals.
In 2023, Browning led the Bengals to a win over the Vikings in which he looked at a camera and said Minnesota "should have never f---ing cut me."
Browning isn't carrying the same feeling heading into Sunday's game. "I think at some point you gotta move on," Browning said. "And I feel as though I have moved on from that."
He also isn't fazed by the lack of confidence bettors have in his ability to lead the Bengals to the playoffs. Despite having a 2-0 record, Cincinnati has +140 odds of reaching the postseason, according to ESPN BET.
"It's show business," Browning said. "You start listening to all of that, you're going to ride a roller coaster. I'm pretty focused on getting ready for Minnesota, the scheme, and trying to focus on that more than how everyone feels about us at the moment."
