NFL executives believe the Bengals could get a premium pick for Tee Higgins, per report

Could the Bengals actually fetch a first-round pick in a Tee Higgins trade?

Tee Higgins won’t be entering NFL free agency this year, as the Cincinnati Bengals have placed the franchise tag on the wide receiver.

Because the Bengals placed the tag so early on Higgins — the deadline to use the tag is March 5th — that makes it more likely that the team will at least entertain trade offers for the 25-year-old star.

If the Bengals do consider a trade, what kind of value could they get in return?

According to The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov, NFL executives believe the Bengals could fetch a late first or early second-round pick for Higgins.

Getting that good of a pick for Higgins may be too good for Cincinnati to pass up, assuming they don’t plan on tagging Higgins again in 2025. A late first/early second-rounder could easily be turned into someone like Florida State’s Keon Coleman or LSU’s Brian Thomas to replace Higgins and have them under contract for at least four seasons with small cap hits.

I’d still bet against the Bengals trading Higgins since he’s a sure thing for a team that is capable of making a run to the Super Bowl, but these trade rumors won’t be slowing down anytime soon.