Travelling back in time to the conclusion of the 2021-22 NFL season, the Cincinnati Bengals walked off the field in defeat at SoFi Stadium in Super Bowl LVI. Despite the disappointing result, the team had overachieved mightily, the future seemed exceedingly bright, and the idea of a Joe Burrow trade couldn’t even be fathomed. The following year, the Bengals rode that momentum to a second consecutive AFC Championship game appearance, though they were not victorious this time around. Once again, regardless of falling short of the ultimate goal, these were two incredibly impressive seasons, and Cincinnati looked every part of a team on the rise. Surely, the Burrow-led Bengals would be perennial contenders for years to come, right?

Unfortunately for the team and their fans, the next three seasons would not be kind to them, and they would miss the playoffs each time. Going into 2026, many questions remain about the future of the organization. Head coach Zac Taylor starts the year with an already uncomfortably warm seat; the defense, to put it nicely, is shaping up to be questionable at best; and Burrow has proven to be injury-prone and unafraid to express his displeasure with the franchise’s recent mediocrity.

All these factors give the front office a lot to think about when it comes to the future. Is it in the team’s best interest to go all in with the 2020 first overall pick for better or worse, or do they send him packing in exchange for a king’s ransom of assets? The outcome of this season will certainly provide the answer.

Which Teams Could Make A Deal Happen?

To put things into perspective, a Burrow trade would not be an easy move to pull off for a variety of reasons. The former Heisman winner has a more than sizable contract remaining, wields a full no-trade clause, and will require a godfather-type offer to get the Bengals to even consider dealing him. While a trade would be difficult to accomplish, one thing about the NFL is that nothing is impossible. There is certainly a laundry list of teams that would line up to have Burrow as their starting quarterback, but that doesn’t mean they all have the assets or the allure to persuade him and the Bengals to approve. There are, however, three teams that could have interest and the means to pursue the quarterback in 2027.

The Los Angeles Rams have proven time and again under GM Les Snead that they are ready and willing to take big swings to facilitate a win-now mentality. They have no problem sending out early-round draft picks if it means acquiring an impact player who can make them better in the immediate future. This was once again made clear with the Trent McDuffie trade earlier this offseason. The Rams’ pursuit of Burrow would be contingent on how reigning MVP Matthew Stafford performs this coming season, and if he decides to return the following year. If he is still playing at a high level and expresses his desire to continue his career in LA, obviously Sean McVay and crew would welcome him back with open arms.

Imagine Stafford wins a second Super Bowl with the Rams this year and decides he wants that to be his fairytale ending to his career. Would anyone be surprised if Snead picked up the phone the next day and made the Bengals an offer they can’t refuse? The former LSU Tiger already looks like he was made for the bright lights of Los Angeles. Combine that with an offense full of weapons and Sean McVay running the show, and that sounds like a match made in heaven.

The Minnesota Vikings look like they are going to be starting the season with their fourth different quarterback in four seasons. Free agent signing Kyler Murray will compete with JJ McCarthy for the starting job in training camp, but it is unlikely Murray would have signed there without some sort of assurance that he would be the guy. With him on a one-year prove-it deal, and McCarthy’s ability to be effective in the NFL up in the air, the Vikings’ QB position will one way or another be undecided going into 2027.

One thing that certainly isn’t undecided is that Minnesota has a young superstar in Kevin O’Connell as its head coach. The 40-year-old former QB has consistently demonstrated the ability to win games no matter who his quarterback is. Winning nine games last year in a ridiculously competitive NFC North with McCarthy, Carson Wentz, and Max Brosmer all starting games at some point may have been the most impressive feat in NFL history, given the type of performances those guys had to offer.

That may be a slight exaggeration, but the point is the Vikings have talented players on both sides of the ball and a top head coach; they’re just a quarterback away. Get through this year and see what O’Connell can do with the Murray and McCarthy tandem, and barring either one of them showing irrefutable signs of being a franchise QB, give the Bengals a call in January. Reuniting Burrow with his LSU teammate Justin Jefferson would be must-watch TV, and finally giving Coach O’Connell an elite quarterback would immediately make the Vikings serious contenders.

The New York Jets are one of the league’s most infamous long-time suffering teams. The forsaken East Rutherford residents have not been to the postseason since 2010 and are the not-so-proud owners of the NFL’s longest active playoff drought. There is potentially hope on the horizon, as they have picks 2, 16, 33, and 44 in this year’s draft. Four top 50 picks in a draft are always good to have, but this is a weak quarterback draft, and that is their greatest need. The reality of the Jets’ situation is that they are not going to find their QB messiah in this draft, and they are most likely going to endure another atrocious season, no matter who they use those picks on. While this is much to the chagrin of the fans and probably even more so of head coach Aaron Glenn, who will be scapegoated during or after this season, the front office likely welcomes another year of tanking.

The 2027 Draft is expected to boast an excellent QB class, and the Jets currently own their own first-round pick, the Colts, and the earlier pick of the Cowboys or Packers. In all likelihood, their own pick will be within the top three, if not first overall, but if they needed to move up, they also clearly have the draft assets to do so. With that setup, it seems like the Jets are in a great position to draft their next franchise quarterback in 2027 and develop him into a superstar not long after. Certainly, the franchise has a long history of hitting on its quarterback draft picks and helping them blossom into stars, right?

Listen, this is the Jets. They could draft the most perfectly constructed NFL QB prospect the world has ever seen, and they would invent a way to screw up his development. Call up Cincinnati, take some of those 2027 first-round picks and perhaps more, and ask them if Mr. Burrow can come out to play. They need a quarterback who is already developed and can lead them out of the depths of despair those poor fans have been banished to for so long.

The hardest part would be getting the golden boy to waive his no-trade clause. While not exactly an easy organization to sell a player on, the idea of getting a fresh start playing in a big market, being billed as Broadway Joe 2.0, and the chance to be the savior of one of the NFL’s most iconic franchises may be enough to intrigue Burrow to ignore his better judgment.

Why A Joe Burrow Trade Could Be Beneficial For Him And The Bengals

It needs to be made clear that if this coming season goes well in Cincinnati, Burrow leads them back to the playoffs, and they win a round or two, all this conjecture goes out the window. That’s the best part of the offseason; writers can just make up scenarios! With this in mind, the team as a whole is not in a position to expect to be successful.

There is so much money tied up on the offensive side of the ball that the defense has become a wasteland, devoid of talent for multiple years now. Burrow threw for 4,918 yards, 43 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions in 2023, which is about as good a year as a quarterback can have. The Bengals went 9-8 and missed the playoffs. It is actually impressive to have a QB put up stats like that and still miss the postseason.

Both sides need to start looking at the big picture. Burrow is undeniably an incredible talent and one of the top five best quarterbacks in the league when healthy. At the same time, he turns 30 in December and has missed at least six games in three separate seasons.

Whether Burrow is injury-riddled once again this season, or he is spectacular like he was in 2023, and it leads to no team success, the time may be now to sell high. Clearly, MVP-caliber quarterback play isn’t always enough to even just get to the playoffs. It takes a complete team. Take the Seattle Seahawks’ latest Super Bowl run, for example. Sam Darnold played great all season, and his contributions shouldn’t be minimized at all, but that entire team was constructed so well in all three phases. He didn’t need to put on the Superman cape every game and was free to play smart and safe, and the results speak for themselves.

2027 would be a perfect time for a hard reset in Cincinnati, in large part due to the quality and quantity of quarterbacks in that draft. Burrow can still command a massive haul of picks and perhaps even young impact players as well. It would be one of the biggest trades of all time and could set them up for success for years to come.

Burrow’s contract does make a deal more difficult, but by no means impossible. If he is traded after the following season, before June 1st, 2027, the Bengals would take a $36 million dead cap hit in 2027 but also save just under $16 million. If he is traded after June 1st, 2027, they would take a $21 million dead cap hit in 2027 and a $15 million dead cap hit in 2028, while saving just under $31 million in 2027.

Obviously, the dead cap money isn’t ideal, but it’s not insurmountable. The Broncos gave the blueprint for overcoming this after releasing Russell Wilson and taking on $85 million in dead cap space. Be smart in free agency, hit on draft picks, and most importantly, find a promising young quarterback that doesn’t cost much.

Denver didn’t get anything in return for Wilson and took on way more dead cap money. The Bengals would receive a boatload of draft capital for Burrow and have fewer salary cap issues to work around. The initial scrutiny from around the league for trading a player of this magnitude would be brutal, but fortune favors the bold. Cincinnati could either look like geniuses who sold at the right time for great value, or fools who let a great QB go too soon.

From Burrow’s perspective, he really holds all the cards because of his no-trade clause. Whether he decides he would like to continue to play in Cincinnati or he wants to start a new chapter with a different team, he needs to consider what he wants the rest of his career to look like.

The former number one overall pick experienced success early on, reaching the Super Bowl in just his second NFL season. Historically, for young quarterbacks who make it there and lose, they often never make it back for a second chance. With his well-documented injury history, he has to come to terms with the fact that, as he gets older, it is only going to get harder to stay healthy and on the field. One thing that is for certain is that all NFL fans want to see Burrow playing at a high level and in meaningful games for years to come. Where, and for which team, remains to be seen.