NFL Week 2 Quarterback Injuries Roundup: Burrow, Daniels, McCarthy, Fields All Go Down

Quarterbacks Joe Burrow, Jayden Daniels, J.J. McCarthy, and Justin Fields are all suffering injuries of varying degrees.

Joe Burrow (R) of the Cincinnati Bengals is helped off the field following an injury in the second quarter of the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Sept. 14, 2025. Kirk Irwin/Getty Images

Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season saw Brock Purdy of the San Francisco 49ers get injured, and he was unable to suit up in Week 2. However, Week 2 was much more harmful to the QB position, as several signal callers went down, leaving their teams scrambling. Four notable quarterbacks suffered injuries, including some of the biggest names in the sport.

Joe Burrow, Jayden Daniels, Justin Fields, and J.J. McCarthy all suffered injuries that could keep them sidelined. Even MVP Josh Allen briefly had to leave his team’s game due to a nose injury, only to then return.

The four have injuries with impacts that could range from months to weeks to days, starting with the most serious of the Bengals’ oft-injured signal caller.

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

While getting sacked in Cincy’s Sunday win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Burrow hyperextended his toe in an injury medically known as a metatarsophalangeal joint sprain. However, in the sports world, it’s called turf toe and has led to early retirements from Hall of Famers like Jack Lambert, Patrick Willis, and Deion Sanders, with the injury eventually leading to amputation for Sanders.

Burrow’s turf toe will require surgery, which will keep him out for three months and throw a wrench into the Bengals’ season.

It’s also the latest in a string of injuries for the Heisman-winning former number one overall pick. Burrow tore his ACL in his 2020 rookie season, underwent emergency appendix surgery in 2022, and then had season-ending wrist surgery for a torn ligament in 2023. The Bengals will turn to backup Jake Browning, who threw three picks in relief of Burrow on Sunday and has a 4–3 record as an NFL starter.

J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings

McCarthy looked every bit like someone playing in his second NFL game during Minnesota’s Sunday Night Football loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He was sacked six times, fumbled three times, threw two interceptions, and had zero touchdowns.

While the discussion on Sunday night following the game was about his performance, the discourse on Monday then turned to the injury he suffered in the game.

McCarthy endured the dreaded high-ankle sprain on the same leg where a torn meniscus kept him out of the 2024 season. His prognosis is two to four weeks, but you can expect it to be on the long end of that timeline based on Minnesota’s schedule.

After facing Cincinnati in Week 3, in a matchup of backup QBs, the Vikings then have back-to-back games in Europe before a Week 6 bye. Thus, Minnesota fans can expect Carson Wentz to be under center until Week 7 at the earliest, as the former Eagle looks poised to start for his sixth different team in six years.

Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders

After Washington’s loss to the Green Bay Packers last Thursday, Daniels was seen icing his knee and then limping out of the stadium. There were no reports of him possibly missing any time then, but on Monday, coach Dan Quinn admitted that his availability for Week 3 is in doubt, and he must hit “all the markers” before returning to play.

With how important Daniels’ rushing ability is to his style of play, it likely wouldn’t do the Commanders, or Daniels, any good to send a compromised version of himself out onto the field.

Washington takes on the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, and if Daniels can’t suit up, then it would be the first missed game of his NFL career. Washington would then replace one Heisman-winning quarterback with another as Marcus Mariota is Daniels’ backup.

Justin Fields, New York Jets

Just about nothing went right for the Jets in their Sunday loss to the Buffalo Bills, highlighted by their new quarterback suffering a concussion.

Fields struggled throughout the game, completed just 3 of 11 passes, and finished with a career-low QBR of 1.1. His final play involved Joey Bosa sacking him, forcing a fumble that was recovered by New York, and saw Fields have his helmet slam against the MetLife Stadium turf.

Fields then left the game, was evaluated by medical personnel, and has since been placed into concussion protocol. There is a five-step protocol before he can return to play, and an independent physician is the one who makes that call, not the Jets’ medical personnel.

While this is Fields’ first documented concussion in the NFL, he did suffer one in college at Ohio State. If he can’t go for New York’s Week 3 game versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, then journeyman Tyrod Taylor would get the call and make a start for his sixth NFL team.