Before Tua Tagovailoa found himself benched for Quinn Ewers this weekend, he was the fifth overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Tua was a top target of the Dolphins coming out of Alabama, with the campaign “Tanking for Tua” in full effect the entire year prior. But according to recent report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the team made a huge push to land Joe Burrow prior to that selection.
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The Bengals took Burrow No. 1 in 2019 following his historic season at LSU. And it reportedly impressed Miami so much that they were willing to leverage a great deal of their future to make sure the Heisman Trophy winner and national champion landed in South Beach.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) throws during warmups before the NFL Week 1 game between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025.© Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Bengals turned down ‘massive’ Miami trade haul
Per Schefter, the Dolphins showed extremely heavy interest in acquiring Burrow. So much so that Miami’s brass was on the verge of making a franchise-altering move to have the two-time Pro Bowler in aqua and white.
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“Before the 2020 NFL Draft, the Dolphins offered the Bengals four first-round picks in exchange for the No. 1 overall selection and the ability to draft Burrow, league sources told ESPN,” the insider revealed.
Adding, “The Bengals declined to even engage in discussions and shut down the trade inquiry before it could gain any traction, according to sources.”
Now both teams find themselves having QB-related questions. With Tua clearly not being the franchise QB the Dolphins believed him to be, and Joe Burrow proving himself to be one of the league’s best, but not loving his current circumstances in Cincy.
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Dolphins ‘alarmed’ by Tua both on & off field
As if things weren’t already troubling enough, the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero also reported that Dolphins management has noticed a difference in Tua. Not just on the field, but off of it as well — which could point to fears about the numerous head injuries he’s suffered in his career.
“It became abundantly clear on a lot of different levels here that this was not the same Tua that we have seen in the past. And the difference you saw on the field is also the difference [the Dolphins] had seen off the field,” Pelissero shared while appearing on “The Rich Eisen Show.” “In terms of where this goes from here for Tua, he is under contract next year for $54 million, fully-guaranteed.”
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The Dolphins will now see what they have in Ewers over the final three weeks — who they took in the seventh round of last April’s draft following a historic run at Texas. But both sides have to wonder what could’ve been had they accepted that trade back in 2019.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Dec 20, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.