Tee Higgins’s condition with the Cincinnati Bengals may not be sustainable for the forthcoming campaign. The talented wide receiver has requested a trade and has not signed his franchise tender for the 2024 season. He has also failed to appear for OTAs this spring. Even his teammates don’t think the Bengals have a chance to sign him long-term.
The Cincinnati Bengals want to play for a Super Bowl
The Bengals, who believe they can compete for a Super Bowl this season, wanted to let Higgins play out one final year before he hits free agency. But Alex Ballentine with Bleacher Report thinks the Bengals’ best bet is to trade Higgins this offseason and recoup draft capital for Higgins:
Tee Higgins has had plenty of success with the Cincinnati Bengals, but his time with the team that drafted him appears to be dwindling.
The reality that it’s going to be very difficult to build a championship team while paying Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Higgins long-term. The Bengals’ decision to franchise-tag the receiver is a move that simply delays the inevitably for one more season.
If this were a Madden franchise, it would make some sense to push the chips to the middle of the table and have Higgins play on the one-year tag. But the human element and the frustration that comes with playing without long-term financial stability could get in the way of that plan.
The Jacksonville Jaguars could be in play for Tee Higgins
Calvin Ridley, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ most productive wide receiver from the previous year, signed a free agent contract with the Tennessee Titans. They added Brian Thomas Jr. in the draft and Gabe Davis in free agency. For Trevor Lawrence, though, the Jaguars could use a little more juice. Ballentine believes that the Jaguars would be a sensible choice if the Bengals were to trade for Higgins:
Several teams should be interested in Higgins, but there’s no better situation for him than reuniting with fellow Clemson alum Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville.
The two formed a dynamic chemistry for the Tigers, and the Jaguars desperately need Lawrence to continue progressing toward his ceiling in 2024. That became harder to do when Calvin Ridley opted to sign with the Tennessee Titans.
Higgins would instantly make it easier to feel optimistic about the Jags this season.
Ballentine’s proposed trade
Jaguars receive
- Tee Higgins
Bengals receive
- 2025 second-round pick
The Bengals could wait until 2026 to receive a compensatory pick for Higgins, but they’d lose value by keeping Higgins this season. One major problem: the Bengals’ receiver corps would be lacking in a major way this season.
The Jaguars would have one of the better-receiving corps in the league following a trade for Higgins. But they’d have to commit to extending Higgins for the long term. That won’t be cheap, and the team has made significant investments to the group in recent years.
