Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor may have accidentally caused fans to panic about superstar quarterback Joe Burrow on Monday.
Taylor met with reporters on Monday ahead of the start of Cincinnati’s voluntary offseason workouts.
Near the end of Taylor’s media availability, a reporter asked if Burrow’s had any medical procedures done during the offseason.
Asked if Burrow had any offseason medical “work” done, Zac Taylor defers and says he’ll let Burrow answer to that.
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) April 17, 2023
Taylor declined to give an answer on Burrow’s health, instead telling the reporter that he’d let Burrow answer those questions.
Taylor noted that he’s seen Burrow around the facility plenty this offseason. And Burrow was present on Monday, so if he did have a medical procedure done at any point this offseason it likely wasn’t anything serious.
Still, that didn’t stop some Cincy fans from showing some concern after Taylor made his comments. There were also some opposing fans who saw Taylor’s comments and suggested that Burrow “stays hurt” (even though he’s started 39 games the last two seasons, including the playoffs — his only missed start was the final game of the 2021 season, which he didn’t need to play in).
It’s not unusual for players to have offseason procedures done. And I’m sure Taylor just didn’t want to speak for Burrow (who knows, it could’ve been something non-football related that has no impact on Burrow playing).
But anytime Burrow and the word “procedure” comes up, fans are going to raise their eyebrows and wonder what’s going on. The success of the franchise rest on Burrow’s shoulders, after all.
So while Taylor didn’t mean to incite panic among the Cincinnati fan base, it’s a natural reaction for fans to have.
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