Bengals second-year quarterback Joe Burrow guided the franchise to its first Super Bowl appearance since the 1988 season on Sunday, as Cincinnati took down Kansas City 27–24 in overtime.
Key to their success was Burrow, who finished the victory with 250 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday morning that prior to selecting Burrow No. 1 in the 2020 NFL draft, the Dolphins reached out to the Bengals about trying to acquire the pick that would amount to the then-reigning Heisman Trophy winner. Per NFL Network Miami reportedly offered Cincinnati three first-round picks as part of a potential blockbuster.
Albert Breer of The MMQB asked Bengals coach Zac Taylor about the reported trade, to which Taylor said that neither owner Mike Brown nor scouting chief Duke Tobin brought it to him.
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“That was never discussed,” Taylor said. “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.”
If it wasn't apparent before, it's apparent now—the Bengals have found their franchise quarterback. They're pretty thrilled they didn't trade the pick away that would have lost them the opportunity to draft their star quarterback.
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• Conference Championship Takeaways: Burrow Makes Magic, Bengals D Makes Mahomes Disappear
• All Bengals: Winners and Losers From the Bengals' AFC Championship Win Over the Chiefs
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