Bengals lineman receives NFL punishment on play that injured Joe Burrow

Cincinnati Bengals right tackle Isaiah Prince received his fine on Saturday for the unnecessary roughness penalty called against him in Super Bowl 56 versus the Rams. Prince shoved a Rams player after quarterback Joe Burrow took a sack from Von Miller. He’ll have to pay the NFL $4,722 for the penalty.

The NFL also fined Bengals defensive back Vernon Hargreaves who received a lot of criticism for leaving the team’s sideline to celebrate an interception in the endzone. Hargreaves’ fine is even more expensive, totaling $5,555.

Joe Burrow took a Super Bowl-high seven sacks in the loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He went down briefly with what the Bengals considered a sprained MCL after the Von Miller sack. Burrow returned to action to close out the game. He won’t need offseason surgery on his knee, or on his pinky, which he injured midseason, according to Cincinnati.

The NFL also fined #Bengals RT Isaiah Prince $4,722 for unnecessary roughness, on the same play teammate Joe Burrow injured his knee. Prince was flagged 15 yards. https://t.co/NM7vgUGvIB

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 19, 2022

Prince is in his third year in the NFL. He went No. 202 in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. The right tackle is part of a Cincinnati offensive line that allowed a franchise-record 70 sacks during the 2021-2022 season. The total is the third-most in NFL history.

Bengals update on Joe Burrow’s knee injury

This week, initial tests on Burrow’s knee indicated that he will not need any surgery or major treatments this offseason. The second-year quarterback out of LSU sprained his knee on Sunday versus the Rams.

“By the end of the game Joe Burrow was limping pretty badly and as he was walking out of the stadium [there were] videos of him limping even worse, he didn’t miss a play,” explained NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. “Of course he’s a tough dude, that’s what you would expect.

“But he did get his knee checked out — had a couple different tests after the game. My understanding is — no surgery is required for Joe Burrow. That is a very big deal. The injury, which is believed to be a sprain, is going to heal with rehab so it’s probably gonna take a couple weeks but no surgery. Considering the fact that Joe Burrow spent all of last offseason having surgery and it really short-circuited his offseason — this of course is better.”

Although it didn’t appear to be a major issue for him in the game’s final moments, flashbacks of Burrow’s previous major MCL injury caused extra anxiety. Burrow should have plenty of time to prepare for the 2022 season.

On3’s Austin Brezina contributed to this report.