Tee Higgins trade speculation heats up after franchise tag

Speculation about the Cincinnati Bengals trading wide receiver Tee Higgins was inevitable.

After all, the Bengals didn’t have a reason to rush applying the tag so soon after the window opened.

And yet they have. It could be a negotiating tactic, sure. But the timing is also peculiar because it happened before the scouting combine, where Duke Tobin and Co. be in the same room as 31 other teams — a handful of which might have an interest in lobbing the Bengals an offer now that the tag is official.

Naturally, speculation has taken off already, with The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov noting the following:

Several team executives believe the #Bengals could get a 1st-round pick or an early 2nd-round pick if they were to consider trading WR Tee Higgins.

Discussing all the scenarios with @PFF_Sam & @PFF_Steve on @The33rdTeamFB: pic.twitter.com/N63AxyQUqS

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 26, 2024

There are a lot of factors that go into whether the Bengals would actually trade Higgins, considering this has felt like a repeat of the Jessie Bates situation so far.

But for outside teams, the appeal is guaranteeing a potential No. 1 wideout comes to town on a contract extension.

For the Bengals, depending on how long-term negotiations are going, it would be pretty hard to ignore a first-round pick and would make the situation going into free agency (from a cap standpoint) clear. Otherwise, they now have until July 15 to reach a long-term extension with Higgins.