Tee Higgins landing spots: WR requests trade from Bengals after no progress on long-term deal…
Tee Higgins will not be playing football in Cincinnati the next season if he gets his way. According to prominent NFL analyst Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the Bengals wide receiver has asked for a trade because the team hasn’t discussed a long-term contract extension with him.
Higgins was assigned a franchise tag by the Bengals prior to the commencement of free agency. With the tag, he will earn $21.8 million, but naturally, that will only get him a one-year contract.
Higgins was originally the top target for the Pro Bowl quarterback and subsequently the No. 2 pass-catcher behind Ja’Marr Chase. He was selected near the top of the second round in the same draft that the Bengals selected franchise quarterback Joe Burrow. In his four NFL seasons, he has caught 257 passes for 3,684 yards and 24 touchdowns. His greatest seasons were 2021 and 2022, when he totaled 74 receptions for over 1,000 yards and 13 touchdowns. Despite his inefficiencies and injury struggles in 2023, he should still be playing his best football at age 25.
Any team looking for wide receiver help would presumably be interested in his services, as he has shown an ability to be a top-flight option in a top-flight passing game. The Bengals are of course not required to trade Higgins despite the request, but deals often come to fruition for players in similar situations.
Non-Bengals teams are allowed to contact Higgins starting Wednesday, and when he gets an idea of what his market could have been, he might be even more upset about receiving the tag. Another team can sign him and send two first-round picks to the Bengals in return, or Cincinnati could work out a deal for a different level of compensation.
If he finds the trade he wants, Higgins will also likely land a significant long-term contract near the top of the market, which could affect future extension talks for players like Chase, CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson and Brandon Aiyuk throughout this offseason.
