Report: Tee Higgins could be traded if extension can't be reached

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(02-03-2023, 03:18 PM)Joelist Wrote: The problem is without Tee the quality level of the WR corps takes a big dive. So we'd need a high pick for Tee since the pick would have to go to drafting a replacement.

AJ Brown was traded last offseason and is a pretty good player comp for Tee Higgins production-wise through 3 years. 185/2,995/24 to Tee's 215/3028/19. He brought back a 1st rounder (18th overall) and a 3rd rounder (101st overall).

Of course the Titans screwed up because unlike the Cheifs trading away Tyreek Hill, they didn't still have a Travis Kelce. We still have a Ja'Marr Chase. Not giving Tee $25m/yr and instead spending that on building a more complete team while also adding a 2023 1st and a 3rd just seems like the smart/only move. If you don't pay him AND don't trade him, you get 1 year of a potentially disgruntled Tee who likely is less inclined to risk his body and take some of the shots he did, before he leaves and then all you get is a pick at the end of the 2025 3rd round.

Burrow needs to step up and show he can produce with something less than the best WR trio in the NFL. We went from "Burrow will elevate bad receivers into decent ones and decent ones into great ones, like Peyton Manning!" to "We desperately need to keep together the best WR trio in the NFL together!" awfully quick. Lol

Ja'Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd is already more than a lot of QBs have at WR. The Bengals mostly just need to add higher quality depth to their WR group. Purge all those PS-caliber guys. Offensive snaps where Trent Taylor, Stanley Morgan, or Mike Thomas are on the field is a waste of one of your 11 players you're allowed on the field. Those 3 combined for 423 offensive snaps this year. Heck, throw Devin Asiasi in there too, who was on the field for 183 offensive snaps. That's 606 offensive snaps played by 4 guys who are objectively bad and combined for just 105 yards and 2 first downs. That 606 is only 187 less offensive snaps than Ja'Marr Chase played. They already got rid of Mike Thomas. Now get rid of the rest. Reducing your huge number of low quality snaps is the easiest way to bring up the average level of play.

Maybe use that Tee Higgins 1st round pick on a TE (it might be the only way we have a shot at Mayer) in lieu of overpaying Hurst. Then add a 3rd and 6th round WR. Or sign a mid-tier cheaper FA WR on a short deal like Marvin Jones, DJ Chark, Noah Brown, DeAndre Carter and take a 5th-6th round WR. 

Then just keep drafting a 4th-6th round WR every single year. The only WRs they have drafted in the last 5 years are Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Auden Tate with the 4th-to-last pick of the 2018 draft. It's why their WR depth is so terrible.