The Cincinnati Bengals finished one step short of the Super Bowl on Sunday afternoon, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in a close AFC Championship Game. As they enter their offseason, they face a couple of key questions, and one of those questions could end up benefiting the Chicago Bears.
One of the biggest questions for Cincinnati is this: do they try and trade wide receiver Tee Higgins while his value is sky high?
If you’re wondering why they’d trade Higgins, it’s pretty simple. They cannot afford to pay both Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase maximum money, while also paying Joe Burrow on an extension as well. For that reason, the Bengals might end up having to part with Higgins and try to get a haul in return.
One team that’s Super Bowl bound, the Philadelphia Eagles, made a big trade to get their franchise quarterback a true alpha wide receiver in A.J. Brown. Look at how that worked out for Jalen Hurts this year.
If the Bears wanted to go out and make a splash, getting Justin Fields a legitimate WR1, then they should be all over an opportunity to get Higgins.
What would a Tee Higgins trade look like for the Chicago Bears?
If you think back to the Stefon Diggs trade, where he left Minnesota for Buffalo, the Bears could try something similar where they package a bunch of picks together and avoid having to give up a first-round selection.
Obviously, the Bears hold the no. 1 overall pick this year, so they aren’t going to include that in a deal for Higgins. But, sending something like the above package could make it happen.
We saw on Sunday afternoon that Higgins is more than capable of being the number one guy on a team, with him making big plays just like he has all season. Higgins is a 6-foot-4 monster of a man who can make all of the catches and line up wherever needed.
In three seasons with the Bengals, Higgins has caught 215 passes for 3,028 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Remember, those numbers are including while being a number two to Chase in two of those three seasons.
Should the Bears want to go out and make a big move to get Fields his alpha wideout, there’s no better move this offseason than a trade for Higgins. This would change everything for Fields and the Bears offense, and who knows, we might see him take a similar leap to Hurts next season.
