As Bengals change tune on Tee Higgins’ future, could Bears make move for WR? originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
INDIANAPOLIS — What a difference a year makes for Tee Higgins, the Cincinnati Bengals, and, perhaps, the Bears.
Three-hundred and sixty-five days ago, Bengals general manager Duke Tobin silenced all talk that he might be considering trading Higgins, who was entering the final year of his rookie contract, to the Bears or any other team with a receiver need.
“I’m not in the business of making other teams better,” Tobin said at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. “I’m in the business of making the Cincinnati Bengals better. So trading Tee Higgins is not on my mind That’s their problem, they want a receiver, they can go find their own. In my opinion, Tee is a good piece for the Cincinnati Bengals, so the trade stuff is a little ridiculous.”
Fast forward to Tuesday, and Tobin’s tune has changed slightly. The reality of the NFL and the CBA will do that.
The Bengals placed the franchise tag on Higgins last week, locking him in for $21.816 million in 2024. But while the Bengals tagged Higgins, Tobin left the door open for a potential trade. Yes, the Bengals want to keep Higgins and need to prioritize maximizing as much of quarterback Joe Burrow’s prime as they can. But with Burrow’s cap hit set to approach $50 million in 2025 and Ja’Marr Chase in search of a long-term extension, Higgins might eventually be the odd man out in Cincinnati.
“The message is we really like Tee and we’re a better team with Tee,” Tobin told reporters Tuesday in Indianapolis when asked if trading Higgins was possible. “In terms of our intentions going forward and answering hypotheticals of what could and couldn’t come about. I won’t get into that, but we feel like we’re a better team with him. The reason we franchised him is because we would like to have him. He’s not under contract and it’s hard for me to predict all the different scenarios that could happen, but we feel strongly about…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bengals-change-tune-tee-higgins-012446789.html
Author : NBC Sports Chicago
Publish date : 2024-02-29 01:24:46
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