Confirmation that Joe Burrow is set to miss at least the next three months after surgery to repair torn ligaments in his toe didn’t come until Monday, but the Bengals reportedly didn’t wait for that word before starting to make plans for a future without the quarterback.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Bengals started reaching out to free agents after Burrow went down in the first half of Sunday’s win over the Jaguars. Jake Browning played the rest of the game and the Bengals also have Brett Rypien on their practice squad.

One familiar face on the list of free agents is Desmond Ridder. Ridder spent the summer in training camp with the Bengals, which would give him a leg up on learning the offense although his play in Atlanta and Las Vegas did little to create confidence in his ability to lead a team.

Mike White, Taylor Heinicke, Kyle Trask, and Nate Sudfeld are some of the other available quarterbacks. The Bengals could also sign someone to their active roster off another team’s practice squad or they could look into the trade market.

Falcons backup Kirk Cousins is one of the names that will come up on that front. Jameis Winston of the Giants and Case Keenum of the Bears are both the third quarterbacks on their roster while the Eagles have both Sam Howell and Tanner McKee backing up Jalen Hurts, but it’s unclear whether any of those teams are going to be motivated to make a move at this point in the season.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will undergo surgery on his injured toe and is expected to miss at least three months, league sources told The Athletic on Monday.

Burrow left Sunday’s 31-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second quarter and did not return. After the game, he passed through the locker room in a walking boot with crutches.

Head coach Zac Taylor is expected to provide a further update on Burrow’s health Monday afternoon.

In Burrow’s absence, backup Jake Browning led the Bengals to a come-from-behind victory over the Jags, completing 21 of 32 passes for 241 yards and two passing touchdowns. His 1-yard QB sneak sealed the win with 18 seconds remaining.

Burrow was 7 for 13 for 76 yards and a touchdown when he left the game.

Cincinnati (2-0) will face the Minnesota Vikings on the road on Sunday.

What comes next for the Bengals

Cincinnati turns the offense over to Jake Browning. They’ve done this before. In 2023, when Browning took over for Burrow after his November wrist injury, he went 4-3 and completed 70 percent of his passes. He proved a more than capable backup the team valued keeping around.

With the best-case scenario for Burrow being a return in mid-December — and even that being a very optimistic timeline — the hope would be the coaching staff can re-calibrate the offense around Browning’s strengths and keep it performing solidly. We saw that on Sunday when Browning led the Bengals to 24 points in three quarters, including the game-winning 92-yard touchdown drive to beat the Jaguars. Even if Browning can keep the offense playing solid they will need improved play on defense to keep the train on the tracks.

If they can keep the team around .500 the rest of the way then it could set up Burrow for a return for the final few weeks of the season and sneak into the playoffs. That’s assuming Burrow can quickly ramp up into midseason form despite working back on the rehab field for months.

None of these things are even close to guaranteed. They will need good luck on their side on multiple fronts. Perhaps after losing Burrow to a rare toe injury, they are due.

What comes next for Burrow

Burrow now faces the reality of three lost seasons in his first six years. He tore his ACL in 2020, snapped a ligament in his wrist in 2023 and injured a ligament in his toe in 2025. He’s also been significantly hampered with calf injuries, appendicitis and other knee injuries.

He’s no stranger to rehab and no stranger to rehab without much precedent. He’ll likely stay involved with the team and in supporting Browning, but there is only so much any player can do when sidelined.

A critical aspect of his comeback efforts will be getting back into football shape despite needing to ease back in post-surgery. There’s a fine line between pushing it too far and being aggressive in the rehab. He was too aggressive coming back from a calf injury in 2023 and by pushing too hard, too early it tripled his return-to-play timeline. As he reaches November and December, those will be critical elements to remember.

(Photo: Sam Greene / Imagn Images)