The Cincinnati Bengals will eventually extend superstar quarterback Joe Burrow, perhaps as soon as this offseason.
Over his two full seasons, the Bengals have been to two AFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl. The No. 1 selection of the 2022 NFL Draft has turned the Bengals into a juggernaut, and their Super Bowl window is wide open as long as he’s there.
Burrow is among the most untradeable players in the NFL right now. But in an imaginary world, if the Bengals were to trade him, what would a potential deal look like?
Alex Kay of Bleacher Report put together several hypothetical blockbuster trade ideas for the league’s most untradeable players. Regarding Burrow, Kay outlined a deal in which the Indianapolis Colts acquire Burrow for four first-round selections (2023 to 2026), four second-rounders (2023 to 2026) and superstar linebacker Shaquille Leonard:
“The Colts have a long history of employing some of the game’s great quarterbacks, starting in the 1950s with Johnny Unitas and moving through the late 1990s and 2000s with Peyton Manning and Luck. Burrow would be the ideal continuation of that storied line, although his services wouldn’t come anywhere close to cheap.
The compensation Cincinnati would require would be downright enormous. Their first-rounders in the next four drafts would probably be a non-negotiable starting point, and it’s likely the team would need to include a bevy of high-end talent—guys like Shaquille Leonard, Jonathan Taylor and Quenton Nelson come to mind—and/or make some separate moves to acquire more Day 1 selections…
Even with the Colts having to give up the farm and offer a historic contract, Burrow would be worth it all for an organization that hasn’t been able to contend because of its lack of talent under center in recent years.”
This trade obviously isn’t going to happen, but this feels like a pretty realistic cost of what the Colts (or any team, for that matter) would have to give up for a game-changing signal-caller who’s only entering his prime.
But there’s no questioning that Burrow is poised to stay in Cincinnati for the long haul. As for the Colts, they’ll likely draft a QB in the April draft. Alabama’s Bryce Young and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud are the top-ranked QB prospects entering the draft.
