NFL Exec Says Joe Burrow Has No Leverage Over Bengals
An NFL exec says Joe Burrow has no leverage over the Bengals, regardless of what the youngster thinks.
Early Tuesday morning, Burrow made headlines thanks to a recent interview.
In the interview, Burrow indicated that he believed he had a lot of leverage heading into the 2020 NFL Draft.
“I do have leverage,” said.
“[The Bengals] have their process and I have my process. We haven’t even gotten to the Combine yet. There’s a lot of things to happen. Right now, I’m focused on being the best football player I can be.”
Former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum strongly disagreed with Burrow’s assessment of the situation.
In Tannenbaum’s estimation, the Heisman winner has ‘zero’ leverage heading into the 2020 NFL Draft.
Appearing on ESPN on Tuesday afternoon, Tannenbaum took a few moments to explain why.
“He has zero leverage,” he said.
“This hasn’t happened since 2004 when Eli Manning orchestrated a trade from the Chargers to the Giants. He has zero, zero, zero leverage.”
The main reason why Tannenbaum believes Cincinnati holds all the cards is because once the team drafts Burrow, there is nothing he can do for five years.
“When you draft a player, you have his rights for five years so you have plenty of time (to make Burrow happy),” he continued.
“It’s not like a free agency situation and if you think he’s the best player and he’s the best fit, you take him.
“As an organization, you work really hard to win him over, day-by-day. I know it’s not the ideal situation but if you believe Joe Burrow is the best player, you take him and you work on it.”
Burrow is fresh off a historically great college football season that saw him win the Heisman trophy and lead LSU to its first National Championship since 2007.
Throughout the season, the young passer slowly but surely cemented himself as the surefire top selection in the 2020 NFL Draft.
When it turned out that the Bengals would hold the top pick, it seemed like a match made in heaven.
Burrow said positive things regarding playing in Cincinnati, and the Bengals were seemingly looking to move on from franchise quarterback Andy Dalton.
Everything seemed to be in place for a perfect union.
Weirdly enough, somewhere along the way, communication seemed to break down.
Suddenly, you had reports of the Bengals possibly looking to trade their draft pick and stories about how Burrow might pull an Eli Manning – something he never suggested he had any interest in doing.
A few weeks ago, national sports radio host Dan Patrick suggested that something shifty may be afoot with the Burrow-to-Bengals situation.
“If Joe Burrow really wanted to go to the Bengals, he would say ‘I hope they draft me. I want to go No. 1 and I want to bring that team back to the Super Bowl,” he said.
“If you’re all in on the Bengals, then it would sound like you’re all in on the Bengals. He’s keeping his options open here because I don’t know if he’s all-in on the Cincinnati Bengals.”
Carson Palmer told me this morning that he’d caution Joe Burrow on playing for the Bengals. “That’s why I had to leave. I never felt they were committed to winning a Super Bowl.” pic.twitter.com/YqQgXlhDDC
— Damon Amendolara (@DAonCBS) January 29, 2020
Barring something totally unforeseen going down, all signs still point to Burrow landing in Cincinnati.
That said, for some reason, the road to that final destination seems to have randomly gotten a lot bumpier than it has any need to be.
Related: LSU Star Joe Burrow Unhappy With Bengals
Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
