According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, wide receiver Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals has asked to be traded. Higgins was recently placed on the team’s franchise tag after the two parties were unable to reach a long-term agreement. With the franchise tag, Higgins is able to remain under team contract for an additional year without having to sign a formal contract extension or risk losing him to free agency bidding.

Cincinnati — By now, who hasn’t heard Cincinnati trying to acquire Justin Jefferson through a buddy of a friend who heard from a friend who knows someone in the Bengals organization?

Jefferson, who played college ball alongside receiver Ja’Marr Chase and quarterback Joe Burrow of the Bengals, is set to begin his sixth season as a Minnesota Vikings option. His record speaks for itself; in his first three seasons in the NFL, he was named an All-Pro and Pro Bowler.

Would the Vikings, though, want to give up their top receiver? Would the Bengals accept Jefferson’s trade for a higher salary as well? There are still unanswered questions.

What is known is as follows:Tee Higgins, a receiver for the Bengals, has asked to be traded after Cincinnati placed the franchise tag on him before the current campaign. According to reports, Higgins requested an extension, although he says he hasn’t spoken with the team since March 2023.
Kirk Cousins, the former quarterback for the Vikings, signed a four-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons and is now departing Minnesota.

 

Sam Darnold, a quarterback, signed with the Vikings.The No. 3 pick in the 2018 lottery served as Brock Purdy’s backup in San Francisco during the previous season.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network stated that Minnesota hopes to keep Jefferson in place “for the long haul,” but he also pointed out that the team needs to secure a quarterback position.

Here’s where the guesswork comes in:

It seems that a mysterious post from his former teammate, Chase, sparked rumors that the Bengals might make a deal for Jefferson.

Tuesday afternoon, Chase shared on X, the former Twitter, saying, “This will be a crazy story to tell.”

Fans, media, and even former players concluded there could only be one meaning to the message, despite the fact it might be about anything.

“Translation: (Jefferson) incoming?!” was how host Kay Adams of the NFL program “Up and Adams” on FanDuel TV described the message.

Adams had not finished. She uploaded a December interview with Jefferson in which she made a playful joke about how nice he would look with tiger stripes. “We ain’t going to talk about that,” he said, laughing.

Tyler Eifert, a former tight end for the Bengals, joined in the fun by taking a screenshot of the Super Bowl odds, which place Cincinnati at the sixth-best spot.

“Sources telling me Jefferson to Cincy is in motion. 👀,” he laughed.

A Twitter follower even went so far as to share purported texts from Burrow’s girlfriend’s acquaintance, claiming that she had informed others that they were attempting to trade for Jefferson. Although it is highly unlikely that Burrow’s girlfriend would say anything, it was sufficient for the Bengals’ social media crew to respond.

Rumors about ‘My friend at Kroger…’ have now spread to Twitter. Free agency is amazing “The group wrote on X.