CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Dee Higgins could be on the move.
Higgins has requested a trade from Cincinnati, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Higgins said he likes Cincinnati and hopes to be with the team long-term, but he's disappointed the team hasn't had any talks about extending his long-term contract through March 2023.
The news comes just hours before the NFL's statutory attrition window opens ahead of free agency.
Clemson's fourth-year player completed the final year of his rookie deal. Cincinnati offered Higgins a one-year option worth $21.8 million for the upcoming season if the two sides can't work out a long-term deal before July 15.
But that doesn't seem likely. A source told ESPN that there was no movement on a potential contract extension before the start of the 2023 season.
On Monday, a source told Schefter that those talks had stalled in March 2023. In four seasons with the Bengals, Higgins amassed 257 catches, 3,684 yards and 24 touchdowns. Last year, injuries contributed to his low season production since the Bengals drafted him. The former second-round pick appeared in 12 games and caught 42 passes for 656 yards and five touchdowns.
At the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Bengals executive Duke Tobin said the team wants to keep Higgins for at least another season. However, unlike last year when Tobin emphatically shot down the idea of trading him, the team's director of player personnel has left the door open to a potential move this offseason.
“The reason we franchise him is because we want to have him,” Tobin said. “He's not under contract and it's hard for me to predict all the different scenarios that could happen, but we feel strongly about Dee Higgins and his fit with us.”
This is the second time a Bengals starting player has requested a trade. Last March, after the team landed Orlando Brown Jr. in free agency, offensive lineman Jonah Williams sought a move that moved Williams from left tackle to right tackle. However, the committee never accepted the request. He played all 17 games at right tackle during the expiring contract season.
