Dolphins tried to trade 4 first-round picks before 2020 draft for chance to take Joe Burrow No. 1: Report
The Miami Dolphins tried to trade four first-round picks before the 2020 NFL Draft for a chance to take Joe Burrow No. 1 overall, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, who also reported Saturday that the Cincinnati Bengals shut down the possibility of any such trade before it could pick up steam.
At the time, the Dolphins had three 2020 first-round picks - their own, the Pittsburgh Steelers' because of the Minkah Fitzpatrick trade and the Houston Texans' due to the Laremy Tunsil trade - as well as two 2021 first-round picks.
Schefter's report comes days after the Dolphins benched Tua Tagovailoa, whom they selected No. 5 overall in that year's draft.
Burrow will face the Dolphins on Sunday at the end of an eventful week that also included more cryptic comments from the star signal-caller.
Burrow raised antennas last week when he said he's focusing on having fun playing football again. This week, he was asked if he's ever thought about not being the Bengals' quarterback. Burrow responded with another vague but reflective thought: "You think about a lot of things."
Joe Burrow, asked about playing for another team. pic.twitter.com/3E8Qv1NOX7
- Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) December 17, 2025
Both the Bengals and Dolphins have been eliminated from playoff contention this season. Neither team has made the postseason each of the past two seasons.
Cincinnati hasn't played a playoff game since the 2022 campaign. After suffering a turf toe injury in Week 2 that required surgery, Burrow did everything he could to return in time for the Bengals to end that drought. That said, Cincinnati dug too big of a hole for Burrow in his nine-game absence.
Burrow, 29, is chasing the team success he achieved earlier in his career. After winning the Heisman Trophy and the national championship at LSU, he led the Bengals to the Super Bowl in his second NFL season. The next year, he had Cincinnati back in the AFC championship.
The 27-year-old Tagovailoa, meanwhile, is also at an inflection point in his career. Availability has been an issue for him, too. Concussions have been a serious issue for the former Alabama quarterback. So have turnovers, especially this season, as he currently leads the NFL with 15 interceptions.
Tagovailoa is now the Dolphins' emergency quarterback. Miami head coach Mike McDaniel is turning to seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers, who previously starred at Texas. His backup will be New York Jets castoff Zach Wilson.
Miami, which will have a new general manager soon, is prepared to move Tagovailoa this coming offseason, according to Schefter. The Dolphins face financial obstacles to make that happen. Tagovailoa's contract isn't forgiving.
The Dolphins owe him $54 million guaranteed in 2026. Cutting him would result in the Dolphins shouldering the largest dead money salary cap charge in NFL history, per Schefter. That number is a staggering $99 million. Yet, as Schefter noted in his Saturday report, Miami can soften the blow by cutting Tagovailoa after June 1 - that way, the Dolphins could split the charge and pay it over the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
Miami could also try to trade Tagovailoa and dump his lucrative contract, or at least part of it. That likely would involve the Dolphins sweetening the deal with significant draft compensation, perhaps even some in exchange for a suitor to take on the remaining balance of Tagovailoa's contract.
In that scenario, though, Tagovailoa could have to take a pay cut but also could influence where he ended up, per Schefter.
Fortunately for Tagovailoa, who spent six seasons as the Dolphins' starter, there are several quarterback-needy teams.