The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Richard Sherman Podcast - Richard BLAMES Bengals for Joe Burrow injury + McCarthy struggles for Vikings | NFL Reaction

Episode Date: September 16, 2025

Joe Burrow is sidelined again — this time with turf toe that could keep him out for three months. Richard Sherman breaks down why the Cincinnati Bengals continue to fail their franchise QB despite having a bottom-tier offensive line, despite his undeniable talent. Sherman also dives into J.J. McCarthy’s tough start with the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2 of the NFL season, the pressure of replacing Sam Darnold, and how it could affect Justin Jefferson and the entire franchise moving forward. 00:00 – Intro 00:05 – Joe Burrow’s turf toe injury and Situation explained 05:06 – Sherman clarifies his take on J.J. McCarthy  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She can win.

She's an outsider to win the French fame. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any service. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the Richard Sherman podcast. And remember, y'all got to hit that sub button if you knew.

But I'm here to talk about my guy, Joe Burrell. And unfortunately, it appears that he's lost for three months after a turf toe injury and Fans, ladies and gentlemen, I know it sounds, turf toe, just sounds like, oh, man, he should be able to play through. Turth toe is serious. Turf toe, imagine if you got a knife in your big toe and you're just walking around. That's what it feels like. It's a torn ligament in your big toe, and it's a debilitating injury. And I understand why he can't play on it.

He may require surgery. I think they're still talking to Bob Anderson about that and sending the images and getting the expert opinion. but it's tough on me to justify what the Bengals have been doing. Joe Burrell is unquestionably one of the best quarterbacks in National Football League, top three, any given year that he's played. He's taken the Bengals to high heights with a Super Bowl appearance. But them putting him behind these offensive lines every single year just is mind-boggling for me. In 2020, they were the 29th ranked O'Law.

in 2021 to 30th and 22, the 30th ranked O'Line, 2020, the 27th ranked O'Line, 22nd, ranked O'Line, and last year the 28th ranked offensive line in the National Football League. And that's where it's head scratching for me because you have one of the best quarterbacks in the National Football League.

He's not the most durable guy. I don't want to call him Glass, Joe, but it's starting to get to that time. If you just look back to even as college history, risk factor in 2017, torn rib cartilage in 2020, torn ACL, PCL, MCL, MNiscis in 2020 with the Bengals, dislocated finger in 2021,

MCL sprain in 2022, calf strain in training camp of 2023, and then Torr's wrist ligament that put him out for the remainder of the season in 2020. 23 and now turf toe, which may put him out for the remainder of this season in 2025. That's, that's a, that's a really, really, really tough injury history. And when you know that, you would think, hey, we're going to do everything in our power to make sure he's upright.

He's, he's protected as best as we can do it. We'll pay as much as we can draft good to make sure at minimum we give him protection. And so he can be He can be with us for a full season. I mean, three to the last four years, he's been injured. So I don't understand. You pay Jamar Chase, you pay T. Higgins, rightfully so. But what does it matter if your franchise quarterback isn't going to be out there?

Now, that's no, no slight against Jake Browning and what he's doing. I think he's doing a solid job. But you got Joe Burrow for a reason. you're not going to protect him. You're not going to do anything to make sure, I don't know, your franchise quarterback can survive a full season. That's what I don't understand about this roster building process for the Cincinnati Bengals.

He gave him all this money, deservedly so. You know he gets beat up. He isn't, you know, he isn't the most durable guy in the world, and you don't do enough to protect him. Now, I'm not, this is no slight, you can't control it. injuries in the National Football League, especially the injuries he's had torn ligament in your wrist, herft toe, MCL sprain, torn ACL MCL PCL. Like those aren't like, hey, man, he's not working out enough.

He's not stretching good enough. Like those are just unfortunate injuries that happen in this physical violent sport and happen especially when your offensive line is one of the worst in the bottom quartile in pass protection. So again, Cincinnati Bengals, you've got to do better. You've got to figure it out. You've got to find a way to protect your franchise quarterback because you're doing not only your team of disservice,

but you're doing a national football league of this service. The league is a better place when Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals are healthy, and that offense is incredibly fun to watch with Mar Chase and T. Higgins. They do a phenomenal job. But now we're robbed of that because you can't protect your guy. You can't protect your guy. They were able to still win that game. game. But man, it's really frustrating to see a guy like Joe Burrow continue to have to deal

with injuries because his team will not address the offensive line issues. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?

I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this.

We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast where people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little. Notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen.

We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay.

Jen she won. I mean, she went down to three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open.

Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis Podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs,

the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. And speaking of the offensive line issues, the Minnesota Vikings had a lot of issues versus the Atlanta Falcons. J.J. McCarthy was sacked, I think, five times in the game under duress a lot more. And I know everybody was on my case. Oh, you pulled the trigger too early, you know, saying that I don't know if he's the answer.

I don't want to clarify this because I was right. And I still know I'm right. but it's being perceived different than the way I intended. I'm not sure he's the answer because you're not giving him a great chance to show what he's capable of. I think, in my humble opinion, they should have went with Sam Donald for one more year. And whether that's franchising him or an extension or whatever you needed to do to make sure Sam Donald was the quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings for one year. You could have franchised them and then figured it out after that.

Because that would have gave, that would have gave J.J. McCarthy time to be healthy, make sure he's fully recovered from his injury, to learn how to prepare for these games, to put his pads on, warm up, to practice, and not have the full pressure of the franchise on his shoulders his first game out. You get to watch a vet's,

veteran. You get to learn from, that's why a lot of these quarterbacks who've learned from veterans and sat before they've played have had success. They've gotten a chance to toe dip, to develop mentally, physically. He's a young kid. And I think he's going to struggle because the expectations for the Minnesota Vikings are high. They went 14 and 3 last year with Sam Darnel. Was that a fluke year? Maybe. Can they do that again? Could they have done that again with Sam Donald? I'm not sure. I don't think so, but we'll never know because you insert J.J. McCarthy into the equation now while the expectations are sky high, he's still developing as a player behind a not-so-great offensive line. You're now going to have your superstar receiver very frustrated

because you have a developing kid here who may miss him on some plays, who may not see him on some plays. And also you're going to get a fan base that's going to grow increasingly frustrated because the expectations were 14 and 3 coming off last year. You know this team is talented enough. You know they're capable of winning a lot of football games, but maybe they won't. Maybe they'll win nine games.

this year. And now you start to get a fan base that starts to question this young quarterback and start to stunt his growth and affect his confidence because they think he's the reason you guys aren't 14 and 3 now. And I know you guys are going to say, oh, we'll be patient and we'll be, well, we understand he's just a young guy and this is technically his rookie season. You know, it's the first year. No, you, there's no patience in the world today. But I'm sorry. That's why it's better to protect these young guys. If this team goes eight and nine or seven and ten, I look through the vitro on social media.

It'll be negative, I'm sure. You won't be sitting there like, oh, man, just give him time, give him development. You'll be saying draft another quarterback. And that's the part where I was like, I'm not sure he's the answer because he's not being given a fair shake of it in the first place. I mean, he's on a team that's expected to be contenders because they were contenders last year. That's what their record said. Unfortunately, they got put out in the playoffs.

And everybody's like, well, Sam Darnold's ceiling. That was a ceiling. Maybe that was a team ceiling. And inserting a rookie quarterback into that situation and then lowering yourself hoping to get above where you were last season just didn't make sense to me. Maybe he'll turn it around and he'll play better than he ever played in college and really show me. and show to all the critics that he's the guy and should have been the guy to begin with. But I don't know.

I think in a situation that they were in where you got a guy that fit your system so perfectly seemed like it was a hand-in-glove fit for Sam Darnold, for Kevin O'Connell, for Justin Jefferson, for Addison, everybody seemed like they were in a good spot. And now you put the rookie in a situation where if Justin Jefferson's production dips substantially, there's going to be some conversations about his future

because now this is the future of the franchise. And so now it starts to avalanche down and starts to snowball because what are we doing? What are we doing? I want to be here, but now you're setting me back. And I can't showcase my abilities. I can help this team win, and then a whole lot of things start to unravel. The Vikings are second to last in yards per game and total offense.

That's not a surprise. That's not a surprise. It's going to get frustrating in that locker room, and it's unfortunate because you could have kept a veteran in there, let the young guy learn instead of putting them in a basically no-win situation. The only way he could ever have a good season is if he just thrived out the gate. Not every rookie thrives out the gate. And so there's a disappointment level for me that they put him in a tough position.

Now, he's 24 for 41 on the season, 58% completion percentage, 301 yards, 2 TDs, 3 interceptions. We'll see how that goes in the future. But he hasn't played really world-beater defenses either. These defenses aren't great. And I'm not saying that the Falcons are Falcons of old. They got some fast rush ability now, but Sam Darnan had a really good game against the Falcons last year. And now you're going to have to contend against Detroit in your own division.

You're going to have to contend against the Green Bay Packers who are looking at their pass rush is even more ferocious. And their defense is playing as well as anybody. So it's not like things are going to get easier for the Minnesota Vikings, but we'll see. We'll see. I just wanted to take a second to explain that to you guys because it's going to be, a tough season for JJ McCarthy if something doesn't change. And hopefully the Minnesota Vikings fans are really patient.

Hopefully Justin Jefferson is really patient. I know Kevin O'Connell is going to do everything he can to put him in positions to be successful. They got a pretty solid run game. But if this quarterback doesn't show more promise, people are going to start stacking the box and make it a lot more difficult to run the football. And we'll see that his next three games are against the AFC North. He got Cincinnati Bengals, he got Pittsburgh Steelers, and he got the Browns. You know, the Steelers have it, you know, they got a veteran defense that on paper should be better than they've played.

We'll see how it goes against them. The Bengals have historically had an awful defense in the Browns struggled last week versus the Baltimore Raven. So there's a chance for him to go on a nice run here, and hopefully he does. But I don't know. I just don't think he's been put in the best. I'm not saying by the coaching staff or Kevin O'Connell in this offense. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying I think he should have got the opportunity to sit behind Sam

Donald healthy, not on injured reserve, not because he had to because he couldn't play, but sit and get to put his pads on, put his helmet on, and learn through an entire NFL season like a lot of these successful quarterbacks have forgotten to do. That's my opinion. As always, I appreciate you guys joining me. I appreciate you guys sticking around, listening to me. You can be anywhere in the world, but you're here with me, and I really do appreciate that. I'll see you next time.

Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast?

Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We get to ask other people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or we're wherever you get your podcast.

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy. Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman

help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades.

Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on... any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.