Joe Burrow Rumors: Dolphins Tried to Trade 3 1st-Round Picks to Bengals To Draft QB

It's no secret that teams made exploratory calls to the Cincinnati Bengals ahead of the 2020 NFL draft with the aim of trading up to take quarterback Joe Burrow.

Now we know just how much teams were willing to offer.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Sunday that the Miami Dolphins were willing to give up three first-round picks to select the LSU product. One of those selections would have been the No. 5 overall pick, which was used to take Tua Tagovailoa.

The Bengals expressed no interest in the trade package offered by Miami or any other team and clearly made the correct decision. Burrow will lead the Bengals into their first AFC Championship Game since the 1988 season Sunday and is one win away from taking the franchise to its third Super Bowl appearance.

The Dolphins, meanwhile, have expressed tepid confidence Tagovailoa is their long-term option at quarterback while missing the playoffs the past two seasons. There's little question Miami would go back in time and make the trade it offered 100 times out of 100.

On the other end of the spectrum, Burrow is showing how quickly a quarterback can turn around a franchise's fortunes. The Bengals had five straight losing seasons before 2021, with Burrow's emergence as a star—and his ability to stay healthy—proving to be the biggest factor in their turnaround.

While they face an uphill battle in traveling to Kansas City to face Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, the future is bright in Cincinnati.