Bengals applauded for NBA-like trade to help Joe Burrow

Even with the glow of the NFL draft fading, the Cincinnati Bengals keep getting brought up in praise for the Dexter Lawrence trade.

It’s a hard topic to avoid for many reasons, tops among them the fact the Bengals gave away the 10th pick in the draft for the star defender.

Recently, one anonymous NFL executive told The Athletic’s Mike Sando that it was a stellar NBA-like move aimed at keeping Joe Burrow happy.

“This is like the NBA when you are trying to acquire guys to keep your star who is going to leave happy,” one exec said. “Is it expensive? Sure, but there is no price on keeping Burrow happy. Drafting Rueben Bain does not make Burrow happy.”

This isn’t saying anything Bengals fans don’t already know, of course. But it is interesting to think that the NFL has been moving toward more NBA-like trades as of late…and the Bengals are now apparently one of the poster boys for it.

It was a generational move by the Bengals, in terms of changing longstanding behavior and leaving comfort zones.

The idea is to improve Al Golden’s defense right away while helping the developmental tracks of upstarts like Shemar Stewart. Those Bengals need it to work, and it’s a little funny to think the Bengals' success could play a part in even more NFL teams taking inspiration and attempting similar things.

This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals applauded for NBA-like trade to help Joe Burrow