There is a reasonable rationale for the team to get value for the star instead of letting him walk this offseason
The Cincinnati Bengals are 1-4. There’s no escaping the reality this team is in.
Now, there is real reason to believe they could rally off four straight games with teams like the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders on the horizon.
One could also argue this team should be 4-1 right now, having come up short in multiple one-score games. If the Bengals continue to struggle and slip to 1-5 or even 2-5 over the next few weeks, at what point do you do what is best for the future?
Trading Tee Higgins has been a hot topic for the last year. Higgins isn’t expected to be a long-term option and is playing on the franchise tag as the sides weren’t able to come to an agreement this offseason.
Higgins, who missed the first two games, came back against the Commanders and totaled just 39 yards.
Now, he did show his skill and ability in the Bengals’ Week 5 loss, ending their battle with Baltimore with 83 yards, nine receptions, and two touchdowns.
That said, one ESPN analyst thinks that, while Higgins has value, the struggling Bengals should trade him and amplify their defense.
Here’s the rationale ESPN’s Ben Solak used.
“But if that doesn’t happen, then the Bengals have to get serious about where they are in the life cycle of their team-building. The Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill away, and the Bills traded Stefon Diggs; when your star rookie-contract quarterback starts to hit the cap, sometimes you need him to make do with fewer expensive veteran pass catchers. Those were older players than Higgins, but if Cincinnati isn’t willing to pay him (just as the Commanders were not willing to pay Montez Sweat, the Giants were not willing to pay Leonard Williams, and the Bears were not willing to pay Roquan Smith), then it has to trade him while the trading’s still good.” Solak wrote.
He’s not wrong. If you have one of the worst defenses in the NFL and have a star who has value but isn’t going to stay around for the long-term future, trading him makes the most sense.
Unfortunately, especially considering how weak the team’s interior defensive line is, pulling the gun on something like this is reasonable despite currently seeming like a distant long shot, especially given this team’s history of never making these types of moves.
