Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins continues to see his name come up in speculation around the upcoming NFL trade deadline.
Keyword: Speculation.
Higgins is a hot name to throw out in trade ideas because he’s playing this year on the franchise tag, and the Bengals don’t appear able to stop him from going to free agency next summer and leaving, not while needing to pay up on Ja’Marr Chase’s extension.
Case in point, an “absurd” trade idea from Bleacher Report’s David Kenyon, who suggests the Bengals ship Higgins to the Buffalo Bills:
“Higgins would command at least a third-round selection, given that Cincy may receive a compensatory pick for him anyway. Add a condition that him signing an extension with Buffalo makes it a second-rounder—and the Bills have an extra one because of the Stefon Diggs deal—and the details might actually sound reasonable.”
The Bills have since gone on to trade for Amari Cooper in real life, not hypotheticals, but the theme here remains the same — just get used to seeing Higgins’ name in speculation.
The Bengals would never trade Higgins to an AFC contender, of course. And the team might balk at the idea of even a first-round pick in exchange.
While the Bengals front office has dramatically messed up the Chase situation in a way that will hurt for years, it wouldn’t jump to trade Higgins when hope remains that they could still retain him beyond this year. If nothing else, it’s painfully obvious just how much better the offense looks when he’s on the field.
None of that means Higgins actually stays beyond this season, but he’s certainly not getting traded, either.
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