Joe Burrow is a hot commodity in the NFL trade rumor mill right now, as the once-optimistic, charismatic quarterback has grown sullen in recent weeks amid the Bengals’ current situation.
When Burrow led the Bengals to a magical run to the Super Bowl in 2021, it was supposed to be the start of a perennial contender status for a feisty franchise deploying one of the best offenses in all of football.
Yet injuries and setbacks have taken hold of the Bengals, sending them back to when they selected Burrow No. 1 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.
As pundits wonder whether Burrow will continue his career in Cincinnati, news today dropped that there might never have been a Bengal in the first place.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter dropped a bombshell on Saturday that the Miami Dolphins, who had the No. 5 pick in the NFL Draft that year, were ready to trade four first-rounders to move up four spots to take Burrow with the first-overall pick.
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The Bengals, who were locked in on Burrow, rejected the king’s ransom and selected him, with the Dolphins pivoting to select Tua Tagovailoa out of Alabama. The Los Angeles Chargers would select behind the Dolphins and take Oregon’s Justin Herbert at the quarterback position.
Although Burrow and the Bengals have had a tough year, they have their 2021 run to hang their hat on. In comparison, the Dolphins have not won a playoff game in a quarter-century, and Tagovailoa was recently benched for seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers in the final games of the 2025 season.
Burrow will travel to what could have been his home five years ago on Sunday, as the Bengals look to put a smile back on his face after possibly the worst start of his career last week against Baltimore.
