Although the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday by the score of 17-9, there is plenty of reason for the team and its fans to be concerned.
The Chiefs are just 1-1 after they lost in Week 1 to another rising team, the Detroit Lions, and after losing wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in free agency during the offseason, they have a lack of reliable players at that position.
Skyy Moore, a second-year man, perked up with 70 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, but he made no catches in Week 1, while Kadarius Toney continues to look like a disappointment.
If they are to win their third Super Bowl championship in the last five seasons, they will likely need to bring in some reinforcements. Luckily, there may be a stud wideout there for the taking.
The Cincinnati Bengals’ Tee Higgins is nearing free agency, and after they gave quarterback Joe Burrow a massive contract extension, they may not be able to afford to extend both Higgins and No. 1 wideout Ja’Marr Chase. That may result in them shopping Higgins, according to Devon Clements of Heavy.
“After the Kansas City Chiefs wide receivers underwhelmed in Week 1, the defending Super Bowl champions are a team being named in potential trades involving star wide receivers,” wrote Clements.
“Take for example BetOnline’s latest odds, which have the Chiefs with the best odds (+300) to trade for Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins.
“Higgins, 24, is in the final year of his rookie deal with the Bengals, which makes him eligible for a contract extension. But according to Kelsey Conway of The Enquirer on September 8, the two parties “are not close and never got close on a contract extension,” which means Higgins is set to play out his rookie deal and become a free agent in 2024.”
Higgins has good size at 6-foot-4, which makes him a nice target in the red zone. He has had consecutive seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards and at least six touchdowns, and in Cincinnati’s loss on Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens, he led the team with 89 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
It may be hard to imagine the Bengals, who came into this season with a great shot at returning to the Super Bowl, jettisoning Higgins prior to the trade deadline. But they’re now 0-2, and Burrow has re-aggravated the calf injury he sustained early in training camp.
If they do decide to bite the bullet and sell off Higgins to the highest bidder, and if that bidder happens to be Kansas City, he could be just what it needs to go from a great team to a dynastic one.
