Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said there was no chance that the team would have considered any offer from the Miami Dolphins to trade up to draft Joe Burrow in 2020.
Taylor spoke about the Dolphins’ rumored interest in moving up to take Burrow, who the Bengals chose as the top overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.
“That was never discussed,” Taylor said to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. “Maybe it’s that phone call that never got passed along to everybody else, just because we knew exactly what we were doing. Weren’t even entertaining it. You could’ve given us 100 first-round picks and it wasn’t happening. There was never really any conversation about that.”
Burrow and the Bengals are headed to the Super Bowl after their thrilling win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
That type of achievement was what the Bengals were looking for when choosing Burrow in the draft. Cincinnati’s success with the young quarterback explains their refusal to even consider a possible offer from the Dolphins or any team.
After the Bengals chose Burrow with the top pick in 2020, the Dolphins selected Tua Tagovailoa with the No. 5 overall selection. While Tagovailoa has shown promise in his two seasons, he’s yet to make the impact that Burrow has for the Bengals.
Both Burrow and Tagovailoa have dealt with devastating football injuries and managed to make it back on the field. Right now, Burrow’s comeback has been more prominent and figures to be a topic during the buildup to the Feb. 13 Super Bowl.
Tagovailoa still has plenty of time to deliver in a similar fashion for the Dolphins, though the team is still looking to simply get back to the postseason.
When Tagovailoa takes the field next season, he’ll be dealing with a new Dolphins head coach. The hope is that even though the Dolphins came up short in acquiring Burrow, they will soon find their own path to the Super Bowl.
