The Cincinnati Bengals are in something of a standoff with star wideout Tee Higgins.
Granted, the franchise tag throws most of the control the team’s way, but there’s an element of the unknown about the future for both parties beyond 2024.
So, the team would be smart to think ahead with insurance policies. Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon has suggested one way to do so:
Solution: Dig in and either let him play on the tag or get something back in a trade. Use a first- or second-round pick on a wideout in this receiver-deep draft.
Truthfully, the Bengals are a threat to take a wideout as early as Round 1 no matter what happens with Higgins this year. The team lost Tyler Boyd to the open market and tight end Mike Gesicki will eat some of those snaps as the offense goes under-center more, but there’s no guarantee sophomores Andrei Iosivas and Charlie Jones will pan out as full-time starters.
As we wrote recently, there’s a lot of evidence that the Bengals won’t trade Higgins. But drafting one year ahead of major needs opening up has been a habit of the team lately — think, taking Dax Hill one year before losing Jessie Bates.
That theme in mind, expect the Bengals to take at least one wideout this month.
