Tee Higgins drawing trade interest from Bengals’ AFC North rival?

Feb 13, 2022; Inglewood, CA, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (85) against the Los Angeles Rams during Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Cincinnati Bengals may be faced with a decision on whether to trade wide receiver Tee Higgins to a division rival.

Andrew Filliponi of 93.7 The Fan reported Friday that the Pittsburgh Steelers have had internal discussions on whether to trade for Higgins. However, the team has concerns about how expensive his next contract will be, as well as what it would take to acquire him from an AFC North rival.

Sources: The Steelers have had internal discussions about trading for Bengals WR Tee Higgins. They love the player. But there’s questions about acquisition cost and his next contract cost. Plus there’s the issue of the Bengals trading him in the AFC North. pic.twitter.com/i3yylwhYon

— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) April 12, 2024

This sounds more like something the Steelers would like to do at this point as opposed to something they have a realistic path to accomplishing. The team clearly wants to add a veteran wide receiver after trading Diontae Johnson, and Higgins would definitely fit the bill. Many within the league, however, expect Higgins to be fairly expensive to trade for.

Higgins had a pair of 1,000-yard seasons in 2021 and 2022, but saw his numbers regress in 2023 as he battled injuries. The Bengals used the franchise tag on him this offseason, which prompted him to request a trade despite having hoped to work out a long-term deal to stay with the team.