I’d be very nervous if I were a Bengals fan …
Duke Tobin, the director of player personnel for the Cincinnati Bengals, shot back at rumors last year that his franchise was going to trade superstar wide receiver Tee Higgins — rumors that started to swirl during the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.
At the time, Tobin wasn’t playing any of the talk, shutting down any idea the Bengals could potentially ship off Higgins to another NFL franchise.
“They want a receiver? Go find your own,” said Tobin, according to Sports Illustrated.
Fast forward to 2024, and Tobin sounds like an extremely different person, as it appears that Cincinnati has realized they might end up losing Higgins and will have to look for a replacement.
“Last year, Tee Higgins was under contract to us,” said Tobin at the Senior Bowl in late January, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. (RELATED: A True American: Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa Gifts Purple Heart Recipient With A Trip To Super Bowl LVIII)
“He was a guy that we drafted for that reason, to be a contributor for us. He’s not under contract now, so we’re going to have to work through how to do that and if it’s possible, we’ll have to go through the gymnastics of that. So, it’s a different scenario than it was last year. Trading a high-level player that’s under contract just because the future might demand it, that’s never really on my mind.”
In the offseason, the Bengals will have limited options on how to handle Higgins. They really only have three: 1. They can give Higgins a contract extension that’s long-term, 2. Put the franchise tag ($22 million) on the wide receiver or 3. Let him go in free agency.
That’s it.
“We’ll see what happens this year,” said Tobin. “I want Tee Higgins back. Everyone on our team would like to have Tee Higgins back. Again, there’s one pie and how big of a slice that takes and what else we can’t do because of it, we’ll have to determine and we’ll see.”
What team will Tee Higgins play for next season? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/c4XsrOdhFC
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) February 1, 2024
Is Tee Higgins headed out of Cincy? … I guess “we’ll see,” in the words of Duke Tobin.