Joe Burrow injury brings to light a jarring reality: Having a backup plan at QB is paramount to success

It certainly feels like the Bengals and Joe Burrow can't catch a break. There was the knee surgery during his rookie season that robbed him of six games. And the wrist injury in 2023 that cost him seven more. Even his track record in the lead-up to previous seasons feels like the football gods are conspiring against him.

In July 2022, Burrow had an emergency appendectomy, the recovery was longer than expected, and the team started the season 0-2, in part because he wasn't quite himself. Twelve months later, Burrow was sidelined by a calf strain and the Bengals again got off to an 0-2 start.

After a quiet preseason for Burrow ahead of the 2025 season, the Bengals currently find themselves at 2-0 and atop the AFC North. But another Burrow injury -- this time turf toe that will likely keep him sidelined three months -- once again throws Cincinnati's season into upheaval.

It got me thinking about the importance of the backup quarterback, especially on a roster where your No. 1 is a franchise player annually capable of getting you to a Super Bowl. We touched on this in a recent episode of the "With the First Pick" podcast with my co-host, former Titans GM Ran Carthon, and CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones.

So what does recent history tell us about how teams value the backup quarterback as a possible starter-in-a-pinch? There are several things to consider beyond, "Let's make sure we have a contingency plan in case our No. 1 quarterback gets hurt."

Because while it's easy to say those words out loud, there are some real-life issues to consider: How high are we willing to draft a player who will only see the field if the starter gets hurt? Would our resources be better served on a left tackle, wide receiver, edge rusher, cornerback or any other position that could contribute now?

For our purposes here, I looked at five situations of QBs drafted between Rounds 2-4. Because first-rounders are thought of as starters, if not immediately, then almost always at some point during their rookie seasons.

1. Jalen Hurts, Eagles

• When drafted: 2020 (2nd round by Eagles)

Remember how much confusion and consternation there was when Eagles general manager Howie Roseman took Hurts with the 53rd overall pick, four years after the team used the No. 2 overall pick on Carson Wentz? The Eagles, by the way, had given Wentz a four-year, $128 million contract in the summer of 2019 but here's what Roseman said at the time of selecting Hurts.

"We believe (Wentz) is a guy to lead us to our next Super Bowl championship," he said. "For better or worse, we are quarterback developers. We want to be a quarterback factory."

Wentz never led Philly to a Super Bowl, though he was on track to do just that and win the NFL MVP award before an ACL injury sidelined him late in 2017 and Nick Foles, who should perhaps be the face on the Most Valuable Backup QB trophy I just invented, took care of the rest. But you know who else led the Eagles to a Lombardi Trophy? Jalen Hurts!

Which only reinforces Roseman's foresight, both in stockpiling the position, and sensing where the position was headed in terms of athleticism.

"When you look at where the quarterback position was going, with these multidimensional talents who could create plays with their arms, their legs and their minds, we were trying to predict where we were going with the position," Roseman said. "Carson had that ability, too."

But Wentz, like Burrow, struggled to stay on the field.

2. Jimmy Garoppolo, Rams

• When drafted: 2014 (2nd round by Patriots)

When the Patriots drafted Garoppolo, Tom Brady was still just 37 years old. He would go on to win his fourth Super Bowl that season and added three more -- two with New England (2016, 2018) and one more with Tampa Bay (2020). But after Brady suffered a season-ending ACL injury in 2008, the Patriots appeared to make it a priority to target quarterbacks, especially in Rounds 2-3. Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell was a third-rounder in '08, as was Ryan Mallett in 2011. Then there was Jimmy G, a second-rounder in '14, and two years later, Jacoby Brissett was a third-rounder. Jarrett Stidham was a fourth-round pick in 2019. (After Brady and New England went their separate ways, the team used the No. 15 pick in 2021 on Mac Jones.)

But both Garoppolo and Brissett proved to be prescient moves by the Patriots. Carthon talked about it on the podcast.

"[In terms of] where do you allocate the resources, I immediately thought about when Tom Brady … started to deal with some injuries and the New England Patriots took Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round, which kind of threw everybody for a loop," he said.

"And you didn't need Jimmy ... until you needed Jimmy.

"And then [the Patriots] were able to eventually trade Jimmy for a second-round pick. So, you're able to get your compensation back."

The 49ers traded for Garoppolo at the trade deadline in 2017, he won five straight starts over the final five weeks in San Francisco, and two seasons later he led the team to the Super Bowl. The Patriots, for their troubles, got a second-round pick for Garoppolo.

3. Jacoby Brissett, Cardinals

• When drafted: 2016 (3rd round by Patriots)

I'm sensing a theme. Two years after drafting Garoppolo, the Patriots took Brissett. Again, it appeared to be the right decision because Brady was suspended to start the season due to Deflategate (remember that?) and Jimmy G went down with a shoulder injury in Week 2. Brissett finished that game (the Pats beat Miami, 31-24), and started the next two, going 1-1, with wins over Houston and a loss to Buffalo. The 2016 Pats finished 14-2 and would beat the Falcons in the Super Bowl. New England traded Brissett to the Colts just before the 2017 season for WR Phillip Dorsett, before trading Garoppolo a few months later to the 49ers, and rolling with Brian Hoyer as Brady's backup for the rest of the season.

4. Kirk Cousins, Falcons

• When drafted: 2012 (4th round by Commanders)

Cousins was taken 100 picks after Washington drafted Robert Griffin III No. 2 overall. But Kyle Shanahan, then the offensive coordinator in Washington, working for his dad, Mike, admitted in 2021 during an appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show" that he viewed Cousins as the better prospect.

"I remember in Washington we already took RG3 and Kirk I ranked as the higher guy," Shanahan said at the time. "Before we made that trade, I wanted to take him in the second round. My dad loved Russell Wilson and he planned on taking him in the fourth round. And then when we took Robert, he told me all along if Russell Wilson was there in the fourth round -- he was going to take him."

RG3 was one of the most exciting players in the league during his rookie season, but injuries cut short a promising career and by 2015 Washington had named Cousins the starter. Griffin played in Cleveland in 2016 (making five starts), was a free agent for all of 2017, and finished his NFL career with the Ravens, starting twice from 2018-2020.

Cousins, meanwhile, started 128 of a possible 129 games from 2015-2022, and was playing some of the best football of his career on the Vikings before an Achilles injury knocked him out of action a month into the 2023 season.

5. Mason Rudolph, Steelers

• When drafted: 2014 (3rd round by Steelers)

Rudolph hasn't had the success of Cousins, Brissett, Garoppolo or Hurts, but the Steelers were forward-thinking in their decision to draft him in 2018. Ben Roethlisberger was 36 and entering his 15th NFL season, and in the three years prior, former fourth-round pick Landry Jones had served as Big Ben's backup.

After selecting Rudolph 76th overall -- and QB6 behind Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen and Lamar Jackson (all first-rounders) -- then-Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said the team considered him too good to pass up, revealing that they had a first-round grade on Rudolph.

Randy Fichtner, the offensive coordinator at the time, added: "I keep my fingers crossed [Big Ben] plays as long as he wants," but pointed out that competition in the QB room will make everyone better.

"If it takes three guys in competition to replace [Roethlisberger] today, so be it," Fichtner continued. "What a great position to be in now to be able to do that."

Rudolph didn't see the field as a rookie but six quarters into his second season, he was thrust into the lineup after Roethlisberger suffered a season-ending elbow injury. Rudolph went 5-3 as a starter, splitting time with Duck Hodges. He remained the No. 2 when Big Ben returned in 2020 and 2021, sat behind Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett in 2022, before starting the final month of the 2023 season for the Steelers, going 3-1 over that stretch, with the lone loss coming in the wild card round on the road in Buffalo.

And this brings us back to the Bengals, Burrow, and their backup plans.

Can Bengals survive Burrow injury?

Jonathan Jones made an important point on the podcast: "Just because it's been, what, three injuries in six years, that could be season-ending, they should invest probably a little more in backup quarterback," Jones said. "But how are you doing that? You can't do it against the salary cap because of how you've allocated your resources. Not to mention how you probably should allocate more resources to the offensive line.

"Can you do it [through the draft]? Should you do it with a second- or a third-rounder? Is that the best way? If you were in this window right now, do you have that luxury if you're the Cincinnati Bengals? And lastly, because of the way that they do business, right, because they don't guarantee money beyond Year 1, it's hard to get free agents in there. And so, you have to hit on your draft picks."

And Carthon added: "If I were in that position, I would start to look in that area [of using draft capital on a QB] because you can get you a young quarterback who you don't necessarily need right now. You can groom him. You can bring him along and have a guy that you feel better about giving you a chance to win those games, but knowing 3-4 years from now, we're going to have to eventually move on from this guy. And whether it's via trade or via a comp(ensatory) pick, you're going to be able to get draft compensation for it."

For what it's worth, the Bengals are perfectly happy to move forward with Jake Browning, the former undrafted free agent, who spent time in Minnesota before joining the Bengals. He's been in this position before, two seasons ago, when Burrow's wrist injury put him on the shelf for the final seven games of the regular season. The Bengals were 5-5 at the time, Browning went 4-3 down the stretch, but at 9-8, the team finished last in the division and missed the playoffs.

Sure, some of the blame falls on Browning, mostly for "not being Burrow," but those three words apply to everybody on planet Earth, save a handful of names. Also responsible was a not-so-great defense that allowed 383 points, good for a -18 point differential.

There has been some discussion about if the Bengals might consider trading for a veteran quarterback but coach Zac Taylor said after Sunday's win that the team was "very confident in Jake," and the expectation is that his teammates -- just like in '23 -- will rally around him. The Bengals did add veterans Sean Clifford and Mike White to their practice squad and Brett Rypien is the current backup.

If you're keeping score, Burrow is expected to miss three months. That would tentatively put his return to action around Week 14, when the Bengals travel to Buffalo on Dec. 7. There are 10 games between then and now. If Browning can go, say 5-5 (with winnable games vs. the Vikings -- without JJ McCarthy -- Jets, Bears and the Steelers -- twice), and Burrow can work his way back into form while going 3-2, that would put Cincinnati at 10-7. That gets you into the playoffs almost every time.

While those are a lot of "ifs," the Bengals and Browning can prove that you don't have to use a high-round pick on a backup quarterback to win games in the NFL and make your way to the postseason.