The Dolphins entered the 2020 NFL Draft in need of a franchise quarterback. Joe Burrow headlined the class after a national championship- and Heisman Trophy-winning season at LSU in 2019. With Burrow coming off an incredible 60-touchdown campaign, the Dolphins showed interest in moving up from the fifth spot to land him. However, the Bengals stayed put at No. 1 and selected Burrow.
Four picks after Burrow went off the board, the Dolphins settled for former Alabama signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa. It turns out they were extremely aggressive in trying to nab Burrow first.
Armed with three first-rounders in 2020 to go with an extra first in 2021, the Dolphins offered the Bengals a package of four firsts for the No. 1 pick, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. They’d have drafted Burrow had Cincinnati signed off on the trade. However, the Bengals were committed enough to Burrow that they didn’t entertain the proposal, according to Schefter.
We heard a while back the Dolphins made an aggressive push to acquire the 2020 top pick from the Bengals. Brian Flores‘ tanking allegation surrounded the 2019 Miami season. While the NFL did not punish Stephen Ross in connection with Flores’ accusation, the Dolphins fielded a bad roster as they retooled that year. Flores guiding the team to a 5-11 record scuttled any hopes of obtaining the No. 1 pick. Burrow had also surged past Tagovailoa on draft boards thanks to his record-setting season, but the Bengals’ 2-14 record in Zac Taylor‘s debut season gave them access to the Ohio native-turned-LSU superstar.
This is, however, the first we have heard that a four-first-rounder offer was on the table. This would have meant Cincinnati sliding from No. 1 to No. 5 and also obtaining the Nos. 18 and 26 choices — to go with a 2021 first. The Dolphins had two firsts in 2021 thanks to their August 2019 Laremy Tunsil blockbuster.
Miami acquired the 2020 No. 18 pick via the September 2019 Minkah Fitzpatrick trade and No. 26 in the Tunsil swap. The Dolphins ended up trading down four spots from No. 26, giving the Packers Jordan Love access. In the end, Miami ended up with Tagovailoa — who was coming off a season-ending hip injury — to go with Austin Jackson and Noah Igbinoghene.
A half-decade later, Tagovailoa’s tenure in Miami may be on the verge of ending. The 27-year-old had success earlier in his career, even earning a four-year, $212.4MM extension in July 2024, but he’ll serve in a third-string role against the Burrow-led Bengals on Sunday. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel decided earlier this week to bench Tagovailoa for seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers.
Even though Tagovailoa’s owed a guaranteed $54MM in 2026, Miami is “prepared” to cut ties with him in the offseason, per Schefter. The Dolphins will likely part with him before $3MM of his 2027 salary becomes guaranteed on March 15.
Schefter points to the possibility of a trade in which the Dolphins offer a team draft compensation and pay “a heavy portion” of Tagovailoa’s contract. Tagovailoa would have to take a pay cut to facilitate a trade, notes Schefter, who adds it’s likely he’d have a say in where he goes next.
If the Dolphins are unable to execute a trade, it seems they’ll release Tagovailoa at the cost of a record $99MM in dead money. They’d spread that total over two seasons, leaving Tagovailoa to search for another team on the open market.
Like Tagovailoa, Burrow earned a massive raise earlier in his career. The Bengals gave him a five-year, $275MM extension in September 2023. Burrow, who nearly led the Bengals to a win over the Rams in Super Bowl LVI, was coming off back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances at the time.
The Bengals haven’t returned to the playoffs since they locked up Burrow, though the two-time Pro Bowler remains among the league’s premier passers when healthy. Injuries have been a frequent occurrence during his career, however, including a nine-game absence this year. He returned from a toe injury in Week 13, but with two losses in three games since then, the Bengals are 4-10 and out of contention.
While Burrow is frustrated with the Bengals’ struggles, it doesn’t appear he’ll join Tagovailoa on the market of available QBs in the offseason. Burrow expects to remain in Cincinnati in 2026.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.
$99.0MM to Stephen Ross is like $99k to most
other people. It’s a lot of money but not an insurmountable figure.
Idk about you, but $99k is a TON of money to me
The problem is there’s a salary cap. 99 mil is a tough nut to crack.
What? It’s not about the cash. It’s about the hit to the salary cap.
In retrospect
Suppose the Bengals took the deal and drafted Herbert instead of Tua with the 5th pick
I would think Herbert, 3 extra firsts, and their own draft picks they’d be in a better place than they currently are.
But it’s also the Bengals and they could bungle the deal all together as well.
Lol
so glad they didn’t wreck herbert.. but would have been interesting to see the numbers throwing to hill and waddle
Joe has missed half of the games through his career. Stop acting like he’s great.
And he would have been injury-prone there too.
I don’t think anyone offering 4 picks for Burrow now. On another note. To all Giants fans is Dart really the answer at QB? Would you consider trading Dart and drafting Mendoza or someone else? What are your thoughts?
Joe Burrow has a 96 Madden rating.
Woody Johnson is on line one.
I won’t be reading any more of these absurd “after the fact” (in this case 5 years) articles. Most of them are total b.s. What GM is going to turn down 4 first round picks? Stop insulting our intelligence with this nonsense.
They call them the bungles for a reason….
Irish- Only ignorant people who have no idea what they are talking about call them the Bungles. Especially when you look at the Jets and Cleveland. Or possibly the Chiefs, who only have 36 players signed next year AND are 40 million dollars OVER the salary cap. You can only defer payment so long before the entire sum becomes unmanageable and your house of cards comes crashing down. Why mortgage the future for a win today? Is it dumb to be frugal with your money? Are you one of those guys with 50 thousand dollars in credit card debt paying 35% interest? Is it really fair to blame management for a bunch of guys who end up playing far below their talent level? The blame should be on the head coach whose repertoire includes the same 5 plays over and over again, the players who don’t play up to their talent level ( again, a head coach problem) and not on owners who want to stay under the salary cap and not defer millions of dollars into the future.
So what I hear you saying is they bungled the head coach decision they made when they brought on Taylor?
No, but you did bungle the attempt to be funny. Don’t quit your day job yet.
“The blame should be on the head coach whose repertoire includes the same 5 plays over and over again, the players who don’t play up to their talent level ( again, a head coach problem) and not on owners who want to stay under the salary cap and not defer millions of dollars into the future.”
And? I don’t think the Laugh Factory or Funny Bones ( comedy clubs) will let you up on stage unless you get better material. Your own HBO special is out of the question.
Just reminding you what you said about them having a terrible coach, brother.
Brown family is a uniquely cheap beast. A lot of it probably has to do with liquidity, all their wealth is derived from the Bengals and holding the greater-Cincinnati area hostage. Extra 1st-round picks are just more financial capital the Brown family has to come up with.
Having 4 first round picks simultaneously would be financially prohibitive which is why most GMs would trade two of those picks for veteran players with Pro Bowls on their resume.
Cool story.
Tank for Tua worked out great for them