Blockbuster trade proposal would land Patriots $120 million playmaker

The Cincinnati Bengals have a unique problem this offseason. Saddled with two of the best wide receivers in the NFL — Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins — they have to pay both of them this offseason if they wish to keep the nucleus of one of the best offenses in the NFL together.

Chase, an All-Pro and arguably the best receiver in the game, seems destined to land a top-of-market extension. Higgins is a little more complicated. He’s already been given the franchise tag once, and it seems less-than-ideal to do it a second time, at a value north of $28 million. It might be the only way the Bengals can get some return on his departure.

Barring the seemingly unlikely scenario in which both Chase and Higgins get their value in extensions from the Bengals, a tag-and-trade scenario seems more palatable.

Enter the Patriots.

Rife with cap space, and in desperate need of offensive playmakers, Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine suggests a pretty simple trade for the 1,000-yard receiver. He proposes the Patriots’ 2025 second-round pick (No. 38 overall) and 2025 fifth-round pick (No. 145 overall) for Higgins.

“Higgins could technically become a free agent and the Patriots would have to take their chances on convincing him to come to New England,” Ballentine wrote. “However, the Bengals have enough money to use the franchise tag on him. Last year, the Chiefs used the franchise tag on L’Jarius Sneed only to wind up trading him to the Tennessee Titans. This would be a virtually identical situation with the Bengals knowing the best way to get something in return for Higgins would be to tag and trade him.”

With the means, motive and opportunity all pointing toward the Patriots, this scenario doesn’t just seem plausible, it seems likely. Barring the fact the Bengals might not want to deal within the AFC, the value of the No. 38 overall pick is not likely to be topped by any other team in the market for a high-level receiver. And the Patriots could easily meet the expected 4-year, $120 million deal HIggins would get in free agency.

The franchise tag deadline is 4 p.m. March 4, and we’ll know more by then what the Bengals intend to do. That said, the Patriots are likely well-aware of what’s going on, and are sitting patiently waiting to acquire the star receiver.