BREAKING: Tee Higgins Requests Trade

[Whatever]

(03-11-2024, 11:55 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Not only that, many would consider that to be a serious indictment of his personal character.  As in "if he did that to his previous team, how is he going to do our team when he doesn't get his way?"

I don't see it as a character indictment, personally.  The reality of the current situation is, much as people don't want to hear it, Tee Higgins is not a current member of the Bengals.  He's an Unrestricted Free Agent who believes he is worth and can get more money on the open market than the Bengals are offering and the Bengals are using a league rule to limit his options to try to force him into making a decision between a one year deal worth less than he believes he's worth or to not play football.  It's his right to make that decision.  There is no reason for him to act in good faith with a party who is actively trying to limit his income.

Beyond that, we're dealing with a person who at least believes he is in a position to acquire generational wealth for himself and his family.  Players suffer career altering injuries every year, and they fall from being stars to going year to year on small prove it deals.  In extreme cases, a Ryan Shazier type injury happens.  Tee himself literally killed a man on the field of play and had to stand by helpless as medical personnel fought to resuscitate him.  It's easy for people to say "Just go with it for a year and you'll get paid next year" when it's not their money and it's not their health and well being at risk.

I have been pretty vocally against resigning Tee and have been one of the few against even tagging him.  But this is not an indictment of the man's character at all.