The Cincinnati Bengals have had a terrible start to the season, and if their downward trend continues, they could trade star wide receiver Tee Higgins for a massive return. Higgins, a former second-round pick, is in the final year of his rookie contract, and it’s a foregone conclusion that he will not be back in 2024. While he is a great player, the Bengals simply don’t have the money to sign him, Joe Burrow, and Ja’Marr Chase to market-value contracts. Higgins is going to be the odd man out, and if Burrow’s injury prevents the Bengals from competing in 2023, then Cincinnati might as well trade him at the peak of his value. In today’s pass-happy NFL, there will be plenty of suitors for his services.
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Top 5 Tee Higgins Trade Destinations, Ranked
Carolina Panthers
Far and away the most obvious fit on this list, the Carolina Panthers desperately need to get some help for Bryce Young. The rookie quarterback has struggled through the first four weeks of his career, but it’s hard to blame him when his best receiver is an age-33 Adam Thielen. Looking around the league, it’s clear to see just how helpful a star receiver can be for a young quarterback. Stefon Diggs helped turn Josh Allen into an MVP candidate, and Tyreek Hill helped do the same for Tua Tagovailoa. The biggest hurdle with a Tee Higgins trade is the compensation. The Panthers don’t have a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, so they might have to trade someone like Brian Burns to secure Higgins’ services.
Tee Higgins is him #WhoDey #Bengals pic.twitter.com/7bnxjz7Yq7
— Joe Shiesty (@JoeCoolStan) August 17, 2023
New York Giants
The 2023 version of the New York Giants doesn’t look anything like the team that made the playoffs just one season ago. A big reason for the struggles is that Daniel Jones still doesn’t have a reliable wide receiver. Darius Slayton is a fine deep threat, but he shouldn’t be anything more than a third option in an ideal offense. Acquiring Tee Higgins via trade would easily give Daniel Jones the best receiver of his career and would give him an opportunity to justify his $40 million per year price tag.
New England Patriots
It turns out that Matt Patricia was not the sole reason for New England’s offensive struggles last year. Even with an experienced offensive coordinator in Bill O’Brien, the Patriots offense is still one of the worst in the league. While they’re still more than one player away from turning it around, it’s clear they need better playmakers. Juju Smith-Schuster looks like a shell of his former self, DeVante Parker is nothing special, and Hunter Henry can only do so much. The last time the Patriots had a genuine receiving threat on the outside, Tom Brady won MVP. Mac Jones obviously isn’t capable of that, but a Tee Higgins trade might be what it takes to turn him into an adequate starter.
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears have issues at just about every position, and that includes the wide receiver position. The Chase Claypool Era was an unmitigated disaster, and D.J. Moore is the only reliable receiver on the roster. It might be too late for Justin Fields to be the guy in Chicago, but that doesn’t mean the Bears can’t start preparing for Caleb Williams or Drake Maye. The team has multiple first-round picks, so they could send one of them to Cincinnati in a Tee Higgins trade and still have an opportunity to draft a new franchise quarterback.
Kansas City Chiefs
It’s pretty easy to see why the Chiefs would want to trade for Tee Higgins. After all, the team currently has no support at the wide receiver position, aside from a promising rookie in Rashee Rice. Adding Higgins would give this offense some much-needed support and turn them into Super Bowl favorites once again. The only question is if the Bengals would ever trade the receiver to Kansas City. Cincinnati will want to compete in 2024, and they’d need to go through Kansas City to make it to the Super Bowl. So, with that in mind, they might not be willing to send Higgins to their biggest conference rival, regardless of how much the Chiefs are willing to spend.
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