If you're discouraged by a perennial state of mediocrity from the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cincinnati Bengals are a perfect reminder that things could be worse. Despite striking gold on Joe Burrow with the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft—and soon pairing him with the league's best receiver in Ja'Marr Chase —the Bengals can't get out of the gutter.
With Burrow missing a large portion of the season due to a toe injury, Cincinnati now sits on a 4-9 record. This was another lost season... and one of the most valuable quarterbacks in the NFL has reached his boiling point.
"If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing this," Burrow told the media. "I have been through a lot. If it's not fun, then what am I doing it for? That is the mindset I am trying to bring to the table."
"...There are just a lot of things going on right now. A lot of things going on."
This doesn't sound like a quarterback who has hope in the franchise he's been with for the past six years... and nobody would be surprised if he requested a trade out of Cincninnati during the 2026 offseason.
The Cincinnati Bengals won't trade quarterback Joe Burrow (especially not to the Pittsburgh Steelers)
When a 31-year-old Carson Palmer wanted out of Cincinnati after a 4-12 season in 2010, the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback had to threaten retirement before being traded to the Oakland Raiders. Palmer would eventually go on to play seven more NFL seasons after the first overall pick in 2003 spurned the team that drafted him.
Could we see a similar situation play out for Joe Burrow? Probably not.
The Cincinnati Bengals might be a dumpster-fire organization, but they're smart enough to know that stumbling upon Burrow in 2020 was one of the best things that ever happened to this franchise. While Cincy has numerous roster holes and needs a talent overhaul, no collection of draft picks would be worth sending their franchise QB packing.
The one person who could force the team's hand is Burrow himself. The veteran quarterback will be entering his fourth year of a five-year contract extension he signed during the 2023 offseason. Following the 2026 season, Burrow will have no guaranteed salary left on his deal. If he insists that he won't suit up for the Bengals and threaten retirement, that could be enough for Cincinnati to move him.
This isn't happening though. And even if the Bengals caved and agreed to listen to offers, they wouldn't answer the phone if it were the Pittsburgh Steelers calling.
Burrow is the sole reason the Bengals have been able to get past the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens to win the AFC North in 2021 and 2022—and why they were able to get to the Super Bowl after the 2021 season.
Then, of course, there's the financial side of things. Trading Burrow during the offseason would result in nearly a $56.5 million dead money hit for the Bengals. It would actually lose them almost $8.5 million in salary cap space, per Over The Cap. The best they could do is make Burrow a post-June 1 trade, but this would still result in over $20.7 million in dead money.
Hypothetically, if Burrow were to hit the trade block, nearly every team should be calling. The Bengals could fetch a king's ransom that would include a collection of first-round picks.
However, the Bengals know what Joe Burrow means to their franchise, and they would be foolish to even entertain the idea of trading their superstar quarterback.