Trade Higgins To The Pats?!

[George Cantstandya]

(10 hours ago)007BengalsFan Wrote: Nothing is stopping New England from talking to Tee to work out a deal.  The Bengals would need to agree to it however and then Tee would need to sign the franchise tag so he could be officially traded.  It could happen and I think at this point it is probably in the best interests of Tee and the Bengals to make it happen if New England is ready to make the deal.

Edit:  Just wanted to add, Tee might not need to sign the franchise tag with the Bengals before he is traded.  The Bengals might be able to trade Tee's franchise rights to the Patriots without Tee ever signing the tag with the Bengals.

As of now with the non-exclusive tag a team can make an offer and give the Bengals an opportunity to match.  If the Bengals don't match and the team signs Higgins they give up two first round picks.  I don't think right now that a team can work out a deal with Higgins to negotiate a deal and a trade.  I think that would be considered tampering.  They can certainly offer him a deal but I think it stops there.

Also:

https://operations.nfl.com/inside-football-ops/nfl-operations/2025-nfl-free-agency/franchise-tags/

Quote:Each of the different tags (non-exclusive, exclusive, transition) can be withdrawn by the team at any time before the player signs it. However, the tenders are guaranteed for skill, cap and injury once signed. A player must sign his tender to be traded to another team.