One of the sillier talking points on the path to 2020 NFL draft was the idea Joe Burrow might pull an Eli Manning and tell the Cincinnati Bengals he won’t play for them.
Why it’s a silly talking point meant to drum up interest in a quiet portion of the NFL calendar doesn’t need much of an explanation.
And yet, Doug Gottlieb just swatted it down with authority during an episode of The Herd.
After noting Burrow’s Ohio links, Gottlieb went into suggesting Marvin Lewis never got the credit he deserved before offering up the following:
“For Joe Burrow, you go and play. The organization could still have A.J. Green. They have Joe Mixon. Last year’s first-round pick (Jonah Williams)…didn’t play. You can rebuild this thing. I don’t think he’s as valuable to other franchises as he is to Cincinnati. It all works. I’m not sure he goes No. 1 overall if he says ‘I’m not playing for the Bengals.’ And by the way, while other franchises might flinch and trade him…you know who won’t? The Bengals….Get out there, you’ll get a chance to start. You do have an offensive-minded head coach and you’ll get a great opportunity with a good running back and a rebuilt offensive line…I tell him to go play for the Bengals.”
There isn’t much else to say, right? The Ohio kid coming home to potentially save a franchise while flanked by a better-than-advertised list of skill-position players writes itself. And if Burrow tried to play hardball anyway, well, we’ve seen the Bengals play hardball with quarterbacks too.
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