Bengals OL gives surprisingly blunt perspective on Joe Burrow trade rumors

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TL;DR

Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Orlando Brown shared a candid view on the recent trade rumors surrounding quarterback Joe Burrow. Despite the team's past successes, the Bengals have faced challenges in maintaining their performance in recent seasons.

Bengals OL gives surprisingly blunt perspective on Joe Burrow trade rumors originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Cincinnati Bengals have everything in place — especially on the offensive side of the ball — to be an annual contender in the AFC.

With the current young offensive nucleus of QB Joe Burrow and wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, the Bengals finished the 2021 season with a (10-7) record and made a magical run through the playoffs to reach the Super Bowl, before ultimately falling to the Rams by three points in the big game.

The following season, it looked like the Bengals were ready to pick up where they left off. They cruised to a (12-4) regular season finish in 2022 and made it to the AFC Championship, before falling by just three points yet again, this time to the Chiefs.

Somehow, the Bengals front office has been able to keep their young core in tact by giving Burrow, Chase and Higgins massive paydays to stay in Cincinnati, but the results over the last few years have fallen off significantly.

Burrow’s 2023 season was cut short due to a wrist ligament tear and he missed significant time last year with a turf toe injury that required surgery. Perhaps the most frustrating year was in 2024, where Burrow put up a MVP-caliber season with 4,918 yards, 43 touchdowns, nine interceptions and a QB rating of 108.5.

But the Bengals couldn’t stop anyone on defense and the cracks on the roster from the money allotted to the big three offensive payers started to show.

The Bengals are coming off a (6-11) record and three straight seasons where they missed the playoffs, so naturally, Burrow’s name began popping up in trade rumors this offseason.

Bengals OT Orlando Brown gives blunt perspective on Joe Burrow trade rumors

Bengals left tackle Orlando Brown dismissed the rumors that Burrow wants out during an appearance on FanDuel TV's "Up & Adams" show on Monday.

"At the end of the day, no matter where you are, winning cures all," he told Kay Adams. "These last three years, we haven't been in the playoffs, so of course that kind of buzz is going to come. I think that's part of the business. That's part of PR. That's part of drawing money and attention. Whether it's real or not, I don't think it's real.

"At the end of the day, Joe gives his all for the city and he loves being a Bengal. He loves what he's doing for a living. Like I said, it all comes down to winning. We get in the playoffs, and we start putting ourselves in position to play in February, I think a lot of that kind of stuff will die down naturally."

Burrow is widely considered one of the top five quarterback talents in the NFL, so it’s hard to see the Bengals seriously considering a trade for him.