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

[CJD]

(02-07-2023, 11:08 AM)WeezyBengal Wrote: I just read through this entire thread and all I gotta say is...

You people are insane if you think re-signing Higgins long term is a good idea or if you think it's in the realm of possibility that it COULD happen.

I honestly think the organization knows it won't happen and doesn't even have much interest in it happening. There's a few factors playing into it:

The hidden value of having an elite QB like Burrow is that he doesn't NEED two number 1, elite recievers. Having that is a complete LUXURY. Joe is good enough to cook without having an "elite" WR corps...as long as the OL is good. Look what happened when Chase was out half the year. Our offense flourished because the OL was playing great. Joe was just getting the ball to any WR that was open. He made Trent Irwin look like a stud.

Championship rosters with QBs on huge conracts aren't built through investing 1/3 of your cap dollars into the WR position group. It's built through investing your money into your offensive and defensive lines and drafting speed skill guys through the draft. Look at the Chiefs and Rams - the blueprint is there. They invested their cap space into OL and DL and it brought them a Super Bowl. The Bengals literally lost the Super Bowl two years in a row because they got out played in the trenches. It's just so imporant.

We all love Tee, but his production is replacable via the draft or FA. He's a thousand yard reciever. The Chiefs signed JuJu for 4 million this off-season and he gave them similar production. Same number of catches, 100 less yards.

I'm sorry and hate to be the guy to bring this all crashing down, but it's just not going to happen. I'm going to hate to say I told you so, but there is just no chance. Don't be surprised if we take WR EARLY in the draft this year.

I agree that we likely should not re-sign Higgins long term. Not unless we see one of these players take a reeeeeaaaaallllllly nice hometown discount (which is not fair to expect of them). Burrow and Chase are going to eat up a lot of cap and investing half your cap in three players on offense is likely not a sustainable way to build your team. 

But I think the discussion (or at least the discussion I've been a part of) is whether or not we trade him this off season or if we keep him for 2023 on his rookie contract and potentially franchise tag him for 2024.

In my view, 2023 and 2024 are our team's best shots at winning a Super Bowl. Obviously, the window will always be open as long as Joe Burrow is here, but for the next two years, Burrow will be relatively affordable, which means we can go all in and keep players we won't be able to keep in 2025 and sign players we won't be able to sign in 2025. Do we need two elite receivers to be successful? No. But it sure helps. A typical 2nd round rookie likely isn't making that touchdown catch against KC, after all. 

I would like to see the Bengals do one of two things:

1. Keep Higgins for his rookie deal and, assuming he isn't threatening hold outs and all that toxic stuff, franchise tag him for 2024 to really maximize this window. If he walks in 2025 and all we get is a 3rd round comp pick, I would consider that worth missing out on a potential ~20th pick first rounder, assuming we don't bottom out in 2023 and 2024.
2. Trade him for an absolute King's Ransom. Not a 1st and a 3rd. Aim higher. We have the bargaining power here, we shouldn't settle for a "fair" return. Blow the other team out of the water in terms of value, or embrace option 1.