Thursday’s matchup between the Dolphins and Bengals will be the first time quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Joe Burrow square off in the pros.
They played twice in college, with Tagovailoa’s Alabama squad winning in 2018 and Burrow’s LSU coming out on top in 2019.
They would have gone against one another in the NFL in 2020 had Burrow not torn his ACL.
But Burrow, the No. 1 pick of the 2020 draft, said in his Tuesday press conference that he’s kept in contact with Tagovailoa since they both entered the league from the SEC.
“Yeah, we’ve been around each other,” Burrow said. “He texted me when I got injured and I texted him when he got injured. We’ve stayed in contact since we played against each other last.”
Tagovailoa, of course, was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 draft.
“He’s playing well. It’s exciting to see,” Burrow said. “All the quarterbacks in our draft class have been playing well and that’s always exciting to see. The more talent the better.”