Here are three potential trade destinations for frustrated $21 million wide receiver and Cincinnati Bengal, Tee Higgins after days of looking for a trade partner. He will play elsewhere on another team next season if he gets his way. According to a source, the Bengals wideout requested a trade and now he’s playing the waiting game to head to another team. Sources say the reasoning is because the Bengals haven’t had any discussions with Higgins about a long-term contract extension.
Now, he may be looking for a long-term extension elsewhere if another team is willing to give him that type of contract. It’s been almost a week since the news came out and there hasn’t been any progress yet on his future. Cincinnati placed a franchise tag on Higgins at the start of the free agent market but is only set to make $21.8 million on it with it only being a one-year deal. Higgins was selected in the same draft where the Bengals landed franchise quarterback, Joe Burrow.
He was a top Pro Bowl target for Burrow but later became the No. 2 receiver behind Ja’Marr Chase as a pass-catcher. Higgins notched 257 passes for 3,684 yards and 24 touchdowns in his first four seasons, with his best years being in 2021 and 2022. He racked up 74 catches for over 1,000 yards each of two seasons, along with 13 touchdowns. Higgins has been inconsistent and inefficient while dealing with injuries, but at the age of 25, he still has plenty of football ahead.
Higgins appears to have posted a cryptic message on social media through Instagram as the Bengals are stalling on trading him. He posted a short clip to his Instagram Story that’s playing “Locked Up” by Akon.
Three Potential Trade Destinations for Frustrated $21 Million Receiver Tee Higgins
Detroit Lions
This is a potential landing destination that many sources won’t see coming if this does happen, but it moves Higgins to an NFC contender. The Detroit Lions finished second in passing yards and will have three out of four wideouts returning next season. This includes their All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, however, there’s a chance they may not retain one of their starters for next year. The Lions are at risk of losing veteran wideout Josh Reynolds in free agency.
He notched 40 catches for 608 yards and touchdowns while averaging a team-high 15.2 yards per catch. The illustrious success that the Lions are having could intrigue and move his interest into moving on to Detroit to express his talents. Higgins has always been a big-play receiver and playing for a team like the Lions could give him the boost that he could need. When his stats declined, he still had a career-best of 15.6 yards per reception average.
Playing under Jared Goff would give him another fiery weapon to work with down the field with St. Brown. It would make their passing more dangerous and potentially Super Bowl contenders.
New England Patriots
After losing DeVante Parker to the Philadelphia Eagles, however, they have wideout Kendrick Bourne returning to the team under a new contract. Bourne is coming off a torn ACL injury from last season so he may be rusty returning to the team before he’s fully healthy. The Patriots would want to avoid saddling their next franchise quarterback with a deficient wide receiver corps. Adding Higgins at the point of his age would give the Patriots a boost for the future and a reliable weapon for whoever the starter at quarterback is next season.
They recently traded Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars, so they may be focusing on drafting a quarterback first before getting the weapons for him.
Carolina Panthers
This may seem a little unlikely since they have scheduled free-agent visits with wideouts Mike Williams and Michael Gallup. However, they desperately need to upgrade their receiving corps to give Bryce Young reliability down the field. They’re heading in that direction after acquiring Diontae Johnson from the Steelers via a trade.
