Falcons' Joe Burrow pipe dream lives on after disastrous coaching news

The Atlanta Falcons have virtually no shot of ever acquiring a quarterback of the caliber of Joe Burrow, but their chances may have just received a significant boost. Amid a rough season for the Bengals, it was reported that both Zac Taylor and Duke Tobin will return to Cincinnati next season

Reports suggest that Burrow has been disgruntled across the last few months, which has seen trade rumors surface entering a crucial offseason. The 29-year-old is one of the best signal-callers in the NFL, so it would take multiple first round picks for the Bengals to even consider trading Joey B.

With that said, we will likely see trade rumors more than likely continue throughout the offseason because of how sought after he will be by QB-needy teams like the Falcons. Since the Dirty Birds will be undergoing a pretty strict reset, it's not crazy to suggest they'll make a run at the ex-No. 1 pick.

The Bengals are keeping the Joe Burrow to Atlanta trade rumors alive

The Falcons have one of the best situations for a star quarterback, but their lack of a 2026 first-round pick will complicate a potential trade. The former Heisman Trophy winner will certainly require multiple first-rounders, and the new regime shouldn't mortgage the future over an injury prone QB1.

Complicating matters even further is the fact that the Falcons only have $5 million in available cap space, so they don't even have the financials to get a deal done. Kirk Cousins would have to be a part of the deal to make the salaries match up, yet he's likely to get cut this offseason to save money.

Burrow is under contract through 2029 after signing a five-year, $275 million extension in Cincinnati after the 2023 season, which will pay the LSU standout over $45 million per season in each of his next four seasons. But even still, he deserves that hefty cap hit far more than an aging Cousins does.

There is no logistical way for a deal to get a deal done to send Burrow to Atlanta due to both financials and draft capital, but he'll certainly garner interest from desperate teams like the Jets. However, it won't stop Falcons fans from dreaming about solving the QB woes by making a blockbuster trade.

Both Taylor and Tobin should have been fired by now, but unlike Arthur Blank, Mike Brown is allergic to firing coaches or doing anything that should improve the front office. And that has one of the best signal-callers of the generation rotting on a team that won't return to the Super Bowl anytime soon.

Since they'll both be back in Cincy, there's a real chance Burrow won't be, but unfortunately, new president of football operations Matt Ryan knows this will be a difficult deal to navigate.