I wouldn’t blame you if you had to perform a double take after reading that. The Cincinnati Bengals aren’t exactly pals with any of the AFC North clubs, after all. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the Bengals’ primary divisional adversary, despite Baltimore’s recent uptick in performance thanks to MVP candidate Lamar Jackson’s successful regular season. The Steelers have had a string of enormous postseason collapses over the last 20 years have made them formidable opponents. These two excellent franchises are definitely not at odds.
Cincinnati Bengals Questioned About Trading Tee Higgins to Huge Rival
Even after a longstanding feud between the two organizations, the city of Pittsburgh actually has entertained the notion of trading for Cincinnati elite wide receiver Tee Higgins. Cincinnati is in dire straits with Higgins after they announced that they would be slapping him with the franchise tag this offseason. While it locks the Clemson product in at a 21.8 million dollar salary, it also does nothing to provide him with a long-term contract.
Following the announcement, Higgins requested a trade from the organization and has been vocal on social media regarding his unease with the situation. The obvious choice would be to send him to either the New England Patriots or the New York Giants so that Higgins gets his wish of being a number one wide receiver but also keeps him out of Cincinnati’s crosshairs.
Now let’s take a look at the situation in Pittsburgh after the team brought in legendary quarterback Russell Wilson to right the ship on the offensive side of the ball. On top of that, the team traded away headcase Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers and therefore fail to possess a world-class wide receiver to pair with quality option George Pickens. If you look at the situation on paper, it looks like Higgins would be a perfect fit to play in the Steel City next season.
Now that we’ve discussed the theory underlying the choice, let’s get back to the actual world. Cincinnati would never in a million years trade Higgins to a bitter rival. Given the already-established animosity between the groups, it would be a terrible PR disaster. After Ben Roethlisberger retired in 2022, the rivalry may have entered a dormant phase, but it would be unprecedented in club history for Cincinnati to give a young team the last push to emerge as a serious contender.