After ending the 2021 NFL season in the Super Bowl and the 2022 season in the AFC Championship Game, Cincinnati isn’t about to throw in the towel on the 2023 campaign with a 5-5 record, coach Zac Taylor said, even though the quarterback that led them into the postseason won’t get the chance to do so this time around.

Taylor announced on Friday afternoon that Joe Burrow had a torn ligament in his right wrist “that will likely require surgery and require him to be out for the rest of the season. We’re still gathering more information on that, but that seems to be where it’s headed right now.”

Cincinnati will attack the remaining seven games with the two quarterbacks currently on its roster – Jake Browning and AJ McCarron, a former Mobile prep star at St. Paul’s Episcopal and an All-American at Alabama.

“Excited to see this team really band together for these last seven weeks and find a way,” Taylor said. “And so we’re excited for that opportunity but obviously disappointed for Joe.”

Burow got hurt during the Bengals’ 34-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night. He threw a touchdown pass with 5:49 left in the first half as Cincinnati took a 10-7 lead but didn’t play again.

Taylor said Burrow likely had sustained the injury on the previous snap when he was sacked by Baltimore defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.

With McCarron on the practice squad, Browning was the only available QB after Burrow got hurt. Browning completed 8-of-14 passes for 68 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions and ran for 40 yards on four carries.

Before Thursday night, Browning had played four regular-season snaps since entering the NFL as a undrafted rookie from Washington in 2019. He’s been with the Bengals since the start of the 2021 season.

“What I thought was so special about him was how confident and calm he was,” Taylor said, “and that allowed me to call everything that was on the menu and not have to dumb it down because a new guy’s coming into the game. So that gave me confidence. I felt the team had that confidence. The coaching staff had that confidence. Jake’s worked for this opportunity his entire life, and he’s prepared the right way.”

Browning will go into the starting lineup when Cincinnati hosts the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 26.

Cincinnati signed McCarron to its practice squad on Sept. 23 when Burrow was dealing with a calf injury.

“He’s got a lot of experience in the league,” Taylor said about McCarron on Friday, “and I think he was able to piece together this is a concept I understand, it’s just called this now in this offense. Part of the reason he was here was familiarity with the people who’ve been here before – (quarterbacks coach Dan) Pitch(er), (offensive coordinator) Brian (Callahan) had him, I think, in Oakland – and so we knew what we were getting with AJ, and so far, that’s exactly what we’ve seen – an experienced veteran who’s good in the room and would be able to go and execute if we needed him to.

“Obviously, we’re turning to Jake, but it’s good to have AJ in the room. There’s a lot of value he brings to that. I’ve enjoyed being around him and confident that he’s getting up to speed also on kind of how we operate with all the difference concepts and protections and things like that.”

McCarron started his NFL career as a fifth-round draft choice of Cincinnati in 2014, and he spent four seasons as a backup to Andy Dalton with the Bengals.

When Dalton suffered a broken thumb in 2015, McCarron started the final three games of the regular season and a postseason game, nearly leading the Bengals to their first playoff victory in 25 years before the Steelers rallied in the waning moments for an improbable 18-16 win.

McCarron also played for the Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans before joining the Atlanta Falcons for the 2021 season. During the six NFL seasons in which he has played, McCarron worked as a backup for a quarterback picked for the Pro Bowl four times.

Until signing with Cincinnati in September, McCarron had been out of the NFL since the 2021 season. He suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a Falcons’ preseason game on Aug. 21, 2021, and spent the season on injured reserve.

But earlier this year, McCarron played for the XFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks, and he led the league in touchdown passes, completion percentage and passing-efficiency rating.

“He’s got a lot of time on the field,” Taylor said, “so he’s not just a backup quarterback that’s been a backup quarterback and off the field. This guy’s played in a lot of football games – various teams, various levels. He’s got a lot of confidence. He fits in the room really well. I think he’s got a great rapport with Joe and Jake and Dan, so that’s a big step when you add an experienced piece to the room, so I think he’s fit that to a ‘T,’ everything we wanted out of that guy.

“So again, it’s been really positive having AJ here, and do have trust in him just watching him operate in practice and scout team and all that stuff. He’s what we expected him to be.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.