After the 2024 season and an early playoff exit for the Green Bay Packers, one of the common realities this team and fan base are having to come to is the fact that the offense needs a real No. 1 wide receiver.
The receiver room in which quarterback Jordan Love has been working with is talented, but void of elite talent. Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks all have traits to like.
Watson’s inability to stay healthy has hampered this group. Reed didn’t make the second-year jump that everyone anticipated. Doubs and Wicks would function real well as No. 3 receivers with a ceiling to be No. 2 guys.
If the room had a true, elite talent, that player could elevate the rest of them.
Enter: Tee Higgins, impending Cincinnati Bengals free agent.
The Packers’ opportunity to sign Tee Higgins is becoming more real this offseason
Cincinnati has another big contract to worry about fulfilling soon in fellow wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who is going to surpass every other contract at the position. Now, could the Bengals keep them both?
It’s possible, but doesn’t seem all that likely, especially considering the improvements needed on the defensive side of the ball.
Recently, Bengals general manager Duke Tobin commented on the Higgins contract situation.
“It’s going to be hard,” Tobin said in regards to re-signing Higgins.
“We feel like we have the resources to do it, but it all depends on how the negotiation goes and whether they’re willing to accept wanting to come back at a number that makes sense for everybody.”
The words spoken by Tobin sound similar to how negotiations might have gone with Chase this past offseason before they were ultimately broken off without a deal done. It leads one to believe that negotiations aren’t the easiest within that building, at least when it came to Chase.
If they had a hard time getting a deal done with Chase (which they will ultimately figure out) that doesn’t bode well for Higgins, who will want to be paid like a number one receiver.
This now opens the door wide for Green Bay to come in and make Higgins a lucrative offer if they so choose. And, this isn’t just a pipe dream. The Packers and Higgins have already been linked to one another in recent offseason fodder.
Getting Higgins would elevate the game of the entire wide receiver room. On the majority of other NFL teams, he’d be the number one guy. He’s the type of playmaker this offense needs and could also help elevate Love’s game, too.
