The Cincinnati Bengals aren’t trading star wide receiver Tee Higgins.
Fans know that much — but they also know that it won’t stop his name from coming up in trade speculation talk ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline in November.
Case in point, Higgins is one of the names proposed by The Athletic’s Dianna Russini while talking about what the Kansas City Chiefs might do to replace the injured Rashee Rice:
The question now: Will the Chiefs roll the dice again as they chase a three-peat? Names I’m keeping an eye on before the NFL trade deadline:
• Amari Cooper, Browns
• Tee Higgins, Bengals
• George Pickens, Steelers
• Christian Kirk, Jaguars
• DeAndre Hopkins, Titans
The Bengals especially aren’t trading Higgins to a team like the Chiefs, for what it’s worth.
Alas, Higgins’ name will come up anyway because he’s playing this year on the franchise tag and will likely leave via free agency the following offseason.
But the Bengals aren’t prone to trading away any players, let alone their best — even if the return might be huge, as it could be in the case of Higgins.
Further harming any outside Higgins trade ideas is the fact that a sliver of hope remains that the two sides find a way to keep him in town on a long-term extension.
While extremely unlikely because of the Ja’Marr Chase extension drama and other factors, NFL teams have done wilder things with cap space in the past. And the Bengals won’t be ignorant of the fact that the offense has looked incredibly better since Higgins got back from his hamstring injury over the last two games.
Despite the tag, Higgins worked throughout training camp and continues to be a key piece. Even if the Bengals were at 0-4 and counting, a move feels extremely unlikely.
