Fantasy football impact of Joe Burrow being out for the rest of 2023

On Thursday night, the Baltimore Ravens announced they would be without Mark Andrews for the rest of the season. Unfortunately, the Cincinnati Bengals also suffered a big loss as Zac Taylor announced Friday that Joe Burrow would miss the remainder of the season with a wrist injury.

After the game, the injury didn't seem to be too much of a concern as the Bengals head coach said it was a sprained wrist. However, further testing showed there was a torn ligament in his wrist.

Fantasy football impact goes beyond Joe Burrow for 2023

The obvious impact for fantasy football starts with anyone who has Joe Burrow on their roster. He was probably a Top 5 quarterback almost every week and as close to a must-start as there could be for the position.

However, unlike Mark Andrews, the impact goes beyond the player and this certainly lowers expectations for most of the other players on the Bengals. It starts with Ja'Marr Chase who has had some big games as of late with 100 or more receiving yards in four of the last eight games with six touchdowns over that stretch.

For Chase, it probably doesn't change much and he will remain a WR1 for the rest of the season but moves from being a Top 5 wide receiver to Top 10. As for Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd, they probably move down from being a WR2 and WR3 respectively to a WR3 for Higgins and maybe a flex option for Boyd.

With Jake Browning now expected to be the starter, the focus for the Bengals probably shifts to the run game and Joe Mixon might see a bump for the rest of the year. He has had double digit carries every game this season but could see a bump in receptions as the coaching staff tries to set up high percentage throws for Browning.

As for Burrow's replacement, Jake Browning, he is probably only an option in 2QB leagues or Superflex leagues. The talent is there for Browning to be successful but he won't be as productive as Burrow moving forward.