There are few, if any teams in the NFL that have as big of a need at wide receiver as the Kansas City Chiefs currently do. After the Chiefs were looking solid at the position going into the season, things have changed drastically.
That's because the Chiefs have been ravaged by injuries atop the depth chart. Both Rashee Raice and Marquise Brown are not expected back until at least the playoffs, and quite possibly longer.
Unsurprisingly, the Chiefs have managed to get by just fine, probably because they have the best football player on the planet at quarterback. However, that does not mean Kansas City should ignore what is a glaring weakness.
And The 33rd Team's Jeff Diamond believes general manager Brett Veach won't. He predicts the Chiefs will land Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins before the trade deadline.
The Chiefs are missing starting wide receivers Rashee Rice (LCL injury) and Marquise Brown (shoulder surgery), neither of whom is expected back this season. The team has the opportunity to be the first to win three straight Super Bowls, and they have to be thinking of adding a top receiver to pair with first-round pick Xavier Worthy for their superstar QB Patrick Mahomes.
The 25-year-old Higgins is younger than some of the other candidates, such as Amari Cooper of the Browns and DeAndre Hopkins of the Titans. He’s a two-time thousand-yard receiver who was a key player on the successful Bengals teams that made deep playoff runs in 2021 and 2022. He has 18 catches for 182 yards and two TDs in his three games played this season.
Higgins is most certainly a trade candidate as things stand now. He's on a one-year, $21.8 million franchise tag currently and is slated to hit free agency in 2025. The Bengals are on the brink of a lost season at 1-4 and would be wise to consider moving the former second-round pick.
A two-time 1,000-yard wideout, Higgins would immediately become the No. 1 option in Kansas City's receivers room, providing a massive upgrade for quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
However, the Chiefs would have to figure out the money situation before bringing him in. Per Over the Cap, the Chiefs have just $4.1 million in cap space, which is not enough to fit Higgins' contract in as is, so they'd have to get creative.
But if the Bengals are open to a deal and the Chiefs can figure out the financials, Higgins should absolutely be an option for Kansas City ahead of the Nov. 5 deadline.
