Packers Blockbuster Trade Pitch Nets Team $22 Million WR

The Green Bay Packers fielded the youngest offense in the NFL in 2023 and fell just short of the NFC Championship Game, which argues for a big offseason move on that side of the football.

A blockbuster trade is sitting there for Green Bay in the form of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, if general manager Brian Gutekunst and company want it. The Bengals used the franchise tag to keep Higgins, a former second-round pick, under contract through 2025 at the price of $21.8 million. However, Cincinnati’s long-time director of player personnel Duke Tobin left open the possibility that the team might trade Higgins for the right offer when speaking to media members Tuesday.

“He fits us perfectly, so we tagged him for that reason,” Tobin said at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis on February 27, per ESPN. “The hypotheticals of what could happen, you know, it’s hard for me to comment on.”

That is a fairly drastic turnaround from Tobin’s comments at last year’s combine, when he sent a message to teams interested in dealing for Higgins to “go find your own” wide receiver.

Tobin’s pivot toward far softer and more open language led to subsequent discussion among multiple NFL analysts and fanbases about who might get into the game for an elite player such as Higgins with WR1 potential. Among those offering viewpoints was Peter Bukowski of Locked on Packers.

“If Tee Higgins is available, the #Packers have to think about going all-in for a player that good who is that young,” Bukowski posted to X. “They have the draft ammo to make it work.”