Bengals QB Joe Burrow sitting vs. Browns, but knee is 'sore, but it's not bad'

Sunday's regular-season finale between the division rival Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns will be missing multiple familiar names. 

Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed Tuesday that starting quarterback Baker Mayfield is being shut down so he can have surgery to repair a lingering injury to his non-throwing shoulder, and Bengals Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon will be out of action after he tested positive for COVID-19. 

Cincinnati starting signal-caller Joe Burrow tweaked his knee late in this past Sunday's victory over the Kansas City Chiefs and, thus, will also be a spectator for the Cleveland matchup. 

"That wouldn't play a factor," Burrow answered when asked if his knee would prevent him from playing in a must-win contest, per Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports. "My knee is -- I mean, it's sore, but it's not bad. I could play if I needed to." 

The Bengals won the AFC North and, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, could still clinch the conference's No. 1 overall playoff seed with a win at Cleveland coupled with the Chiefs falling to the 7-9 Denver Broncos on Saturday evening, the Tennessee Titans losing to the 4-12 Houston Texans and the Buffalo Bills beating the lowly New York Jets (4-12) on Sunday. 

Such a scenario doesn't carry enough promise for Cincinnati to risk Burrow's health ahead of the postseason tournament.