An NFC North rival could land a big Chicago Bears trade target
The NFL world will descend on Indianapolis next week in the next step of the offseason and the Chicago Bears will be the hot topic of conversation. Holding the No. 1 overall pick, the Bears are listening to offers as they believe they have their guy in quarterback Justin Fields.
Acquiring draft capital to use to build the roster, and get Fields help, will be the key for Ryan Poles as he looks to rebuild the franchise. But the talks of trading for the No. 1 overall pick isn’t the only rumors swirling.
Some analysts have projected that the Cincinnati Bengals could move wide receiver Tee Higgins and the Chicago Bears could be an ideal landing spot. However, if Cincinnati does move Higgins they will likely be receiving calls from plenty of teams.
Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger put together a list of five trades to watch for this offseason. In the piece, he has Higgins being traded to the NFC North but it’s not to the Bears. Instead, they land in Detroit:
Higgins is the lone rookie contract player who makes our list here. He would probably be traded later in the offseason as compared to the above players, all of whom could be moved right after the 2023 league year begins on March 15. As we saw last offseason across the NFL, the game’s top young wide receivers taken outside of the first round — and thus without fifth-year options in their contracts — can all but refuse to play in the final year of their rookie deals without a multi-year extension. Will Higgins end up like Deebo Samuel, back with his drafting team on a strong new deal, or like A.J. Brown, traded to a new team around the draft.
From Detroit’s perspective, while they made a huge trade-up in the 2022 NFL Draft for speedy wide receiver Jameson Williams, they followed that move up by sending tight end T.J. Hockenson to the Minnesota Vikings for a package including a second-round pick at the trade deadline.
Here, the Lions send the No. 18 overall pick — the same pick the Philadelphia Eagles traded to the Tennessee Titans for A.J. Brown during last year’s draft — along with a future fourth-rounder for Higgins. Higgins can be the new big-bodied receiver in the Lions’ offense, filling the void left by Hockenson and potentially free agent D.J. Chark Jr. Last but certainly not least, the Lions will still have the No. 6 overall pick from the Los Angeles Rams in this year’s draft.
If that is the asking price, the Bears would need to acquire another first round pick in a deal with a team to go up to No. 1. I have a hard time seeing the Bears move No. 1 overall for a player like Higgns, despite him being on that rookie contract.
A future first in 2024 could help too.
If the Chicago Bears do move No. 1, they likely will get a big package in return that could include multiple first rounders and give them the ammo to land Higgins and give Fields a big weapon for the offense.
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