Cincinnati Bengals helmet Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

On Monday morning, news broke that Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Tee Higgins had requested a trade from the Cincinnati Bengals after they placed their franchise tag on him for the 2024 season. But there’s some doubt as to whether or not the Bengals could even find a trade partner, much less get a strong package in return.

According to a report from Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, no team had even reached out to the Cincinnati Bengals about trading for Tee Higgins previously.

“Per a source with knowledge of the situation, that hadn’t happened before today,” Florio wrote for Pro Football Talk on Monday morning. “The Bengals hadn’t even gotten a call about a potential trade.”

Obviously, if there is no interest around the league, it would make it difficult for the Bengals to move Higgins, even if he does want to be traded. But as Florio points out, there is a chance that Higgins simply requesting a trade could lead to more offers from other teams.

“That’s possibly because other teams didn’t think Higgins would be available, even though he’s been franchise tagged. The Bengals can be stubborn, to say the least. They tagged Higgins and they’ve made it clear they want to keep him,” Florio wrote. “By Higgins asking for a trade, maybe others will call.”

But if no teams seem interested in pursuing a trade for Higgins, the Bengals could be stuck with a disgruntled player for the 2024 season, which is obviously a brutal situation.

[Pro Football Talk]