What is the Trade Value for Bengals' WR Tee Higgins?
The Cincinnati Bengals have found themselves in a precarious situation. After hitting WR Tee Higgins with a franchise tag, he has requested a trade. Instead of playing on the $21 million tag, Higgins instead wants to test the market.
Higgins has reportedly become frustrated with a long-term deal not being close to being finished, and with QB Joe Burrow having a larger contract and WR Ja'Marr Chase due for an extension—Higgins is unlikely to get a long-term deal.
That begs the question about what would be fair compensation for Higgins. The Bleav in the Bengals team discussed what Higgins could fetch from a trade for a WR-need team.
"To me, it's probably like it starts around Arizona's second pick in the first round at 27. And there's a bunch of teams like you have Carolina at 33, New England at 35. I guess it would be like right in that range of very, very late first or maybe very early second-round pick. And then, of course, you know, if it's later on, we tack on a day three as well."
via Brad Spielberger, Bleav in Bengals
Brad Spielberger breaks down what range a trade for Higgins would result in. He believes that something around the late first and into the beginning of the second would be fair.
New England is an interesting thought here, as they are in desperate need of a WR. This is especially true after allowing DeVante Parker to leave.
The question is whether any team wants to offload a high second-round pick for Higgins. To be fair, Higgins is still a hugely productive receiver.
He suffered a hamstring injury during the season, resulting in his missing four games. Still, even with missed time, he brought in 656 yards and 5 TDs.
Higgins is no slouch and has reached 1,000 yards+ in the past two seasons. He should fetch a huge price, but it would be predicated on a team wanting to give him a bigger contract as well.
James Brizuela has been a professional writer since 2019. After covering entertainment and the NFL for Sportskeeda, he now works as an Assignment Desk Editor for the LA Sports Report Network which has partnered with the Sports Illustrated FanNation Network, focusing on his expertise in LA sports at the college and professional level.