Joe Burrow is one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. Burrow being available on the trade market is unthinkable.
Unless it isn’t?
Burrow sent shockwaves through the NFL by channeling his inner college football coach, cryptically responding to questions about whether he had considered leaving Cincinnati before. Also, for the second straight season, Burrow’s injury has sunk Cincinnati’s playoff hopes. If he were to seek a trade, which teams should be in the mix?
Teams that Should Pursue Joe Burrow In a Trade
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings were one of the more fascinating teams coming into the season because of the decisions they made at quarterback in the offseason.
Sam Darnold was allowed to leave in free agency after experiencing a career renaissance in Minnesota a season ago.
They explored some veteran options, including a potential pursuit of Aaron Rodgers in the offseason, before ultimately handing the keys to JJ McCarthy.
The results have been mostly disastrous. The Vikings roster was built to win right now with veterans on defense and a pass-catching core that includes Justin Jefferson.
McCarthy has, by almost any metric, been one of the worst quarterbacks in football this season. After finishing with 14 wins a season ago, the Vikings look destined to finish last in the NFC North.
Adding Burrow to a division that already includes Jordan Love, Jared Goff, and Caleb Williams would make a tough division even tougher.
The caveat here is that the Vikings do not have a ton of draft capital, but the price to acquire a player like Burrow is always worth it.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers have been one of the league’s pleasant surprises this year, competing for an NFC South title, sitting at 7-7 with three weeks to play.
One of the reasons they’ve been so up-and-down, however, is the uneven play of Bryce Young. Sometimes, Young appears to have turned the corner, and at other times, he has struggled.
The reality is that three seasons into his contract, he’s unlikely to prove worthy of his status as the first overall pick in his draft class. The Panthers have a good run game led by Rico Dowdle and an impressive young receiver in Tetairoa McMillan.
Could they see the rest of their division in the midst of transition periods and make a bold move to try to get them to the top of their division?
Burrow would be an interesting addition to Dave Canales’ offense.
New York Jets
Perhaps the most obvious choice is the one we’re listing last, because the New York Jets are loaded with draft capital thanks to trades of Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner at the trade deadline.
The Jets will have five first-round picks in the following two draft classes. They could try to grab a quarterback at the top of the draft and use the rest of those picks to build around him after the failed Justin Fields experiment.
The other option, of course, is to try to grab an established quarterback with those picks. With Garrett Wilson and Braelon Allen, the Jets have some interesting pieces on their offense.
More importantly, they have stability on their offensive line with four of their five preferred starters under contract for 2026. Offensive line play has been a hot-button issue with Burrow in Cincinnati.
