Tee Higgins

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor announced Friday that wide receiver Tee Higgins will miss Sunday's game against the Houston Texans, while wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase is questionable, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic.

Per ESPN's Ben Baby, Higgins was limited in practice Wednesday before missing Thursday's practice with a hamstring injury. Mike Petraglia of the Jungle Roar Podcast reported that Higgins was once again absent from practice Friday, while Chase did practice.

Chase suffered a back injury during last weekend's win over the Buffalo Bills when he landed hard on the ground after making a leaping attempt at a catch.

While Higgins has struggled at times this season with two or fewer receptions in four games, he is coming off his season high in yards with 110 and also matched his season high with eight receptions against the Bills.

Cincinnati's offense has been firing on all cylinders lately with four consecutive wins, including back-to-back victories over the San Francisco 49ers and Bills the past two weeks.

Quarterback Joe Burrow seemingly wasn't his usual self early in the season as he worked his way back from a calf injury suffered during training camp, which may have contributed to Higgins' slow start and the Bengals starting 1-3.

Although Higgins has a somewhat pedestrian 27 catches for 328 yards and two touchdowns in seven games this season, Chase has put up big numbers even with the slow start factored in.

Chase has reached at least 10 receptions and 100 yards three times this season, and he has accumulated 64 grabs for 697 yards and four scores.

It remains possible that Chase could miss Sunday's game, but according to Baby, the superstar wideout said the following Thursday about his status: "In my head, I'm playing, you know what I'm saying? So until further notice and anything else, then we'll see."

With Higgins officially out Sunday, veteran slot receiver Tyler Boyd will move up in the pecking order to WR2, and there is little doubt he can handle it with two 1,000-yard seasons to his credit.

Trenton Irwin and Andre Iosivas will also take on bigger roles without Higgins, and they will become hugely important if Chase misses as well.

Irwin has just 11 receptions for 101 yards and no touchdowns this season, and 29 catches for 371 yards and four touchdowns over his five-year career.

Iosivas, who is an undrafted rookie out of Princeton, has four receptions for 23 yards and two touchdowns this season.

The tight end trio of Irv Smith Jr., Drew Sample and Tanner Hudson should also be a significant part of the offense after all three of them made big plays last week against Buffalo, combining for 10 receptions for 101 yards and two touchdowns.

The Cincinnati Bengals reportedly rebuffed inquiries into wide receiver Tee Higgins' availability ahead of Tuesday's NFL trade deadline.

According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano, the Bengals "did not entertain" trade calls focused on Higgins, which was also the case during the offseason.

Higgins is set to become a free agent during the offseason, meaning the Bengals could potentially lose him unless they agree to a long-term contract or place the franchise tag on the talented wideout.

Cincinnati originally selected Higgins with the No. 33 overall pick in the second round of the 2020 draft, which is the same draft that saw them take quarterback Joe Burrow first overall.

Higgins was a favorite target of Burrow's right out of the gate, and he remained a high-volume producer even after the Bengals took Burrow's LSU teammate in wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase fifth overall in the 2021 NFL draft.

The 24-year-old Higgins was as consistent as can be over his first three NFL seasons, recording 67 receptions for 908 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie, 74 receptions for 1,091 yards and six touchdowns in his second season, and 74 receptions for 1,029 yards and seven touchdowns last season.

Higgins was clearly behind Chase in the wide receiver pecking order in both 2021 and 2022, but there were plenty of targets to go around for each of them as they both topped 1,000 yards in back-to-back years.

While Chase is on track for another huge statistical season with 60 catches for 656 yards and four touchdowns, Higgins has largely struggled, especially when compared to his usual production.

Higgins missed the Bengals' Week 5 game due to injury and was limited to about 50 percent of the snaps in Weeks 4 and 6 since he wasn't fully healthy, but even when he has played a full allotment of snaps, his numbers have dropped off significantly.

In six games, Higgins has reeled in just 19 receptions for 218 yards and two touchdowns, and he is catching a mere 45.2 percent of his targets.

Higgins went off for eight catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns in Week 2, but aside from that, he has not scored a touchdown in any other game, nor has he topped five receptions or 69 yards.

Despite his contract status and slow start to the season, Higgins is an elite talent, and trading him away wouldn't have done any good for a Bengals team that is looking to contend for a Super Bowl.

Since a 1-3 start, the Bengals have won three in a row, and they put forth their best performance of the season in Week 8, beating the San Francisco 49ers 31-17 on the road.

Burrow seems fully healed from a calf injury that hampered him early in the season, and that could play a role in Higgins possibly turning things around over the second half of the season.

The Denver Broncos picked up their second win of the season with a 19-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers. It always feels good to get in the win column, but Sunday's win shouldn't have Denver overly eager to keep everyone together at the October 31 trade deadline.

The Broncos aren't one of the better teams in the AFC, and the playoffs are an extreme long shot. The Broncos, who have already traded Randy Gregory to the San Francisco 49ers, should be willing to sell off pieces and focus on the future.

Denver has issues that aren't going to simply disappear this season. Though Russell Wilson had a mostly good game against Green Bay—he finished 20-of-29 for 194 yards and a touchdown—he's been inconsistent and has struggled to push the ball down the field.

The defense played better against the Packers, but it's been one of the worst in the league over the course of the year. Head coach Sean Payton does not have the team playing a better brand of ball than it did under Nathaniel Hackett, and the Broncos may want to consider hitting the reset button in the offseason.

This is particularly true if Denver earns a top draft pick and has a shot at a QB prospect like Drake Maye or Caleb Williams. Additional draft capital could go a long way toward successfully reloading in 2024.

Yet, the Broncos reportedly aren't eager to move players at the deadline.

"The Broncos aren't planning a fire sale, and absent a deal they couldn't turn down, a mass of trades is considered unlikely," NFL Media's Ian Rapoport wrote on Sunday. "Coach Sean Payton doesn't appear inclined to trade talented players away, especially if they could have future contributions beyond 2023."

Rapoport did peg wideout Jerry Jeudy as a potential trade candidate, however.

"Jeudy was the subject of trade discussions this offseason, with teams calling before the season and over the last few weeks," he wrote.

Jeudy is absolutely a player that Denver should consider moving, and now. While he could be considered the sort of "future contributor" that Payton would prefer to keep, the reality is that the 24-year-old has yet to live up to his draft status.

The 15th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Jeudy was expected to become the Broncos' next No. 1 receiver. However, he's been more of a high-end No. 2 at his best and a virtual non-factor at his worst.

Jeudy had five catches for 64 yards on Sunday, and he's failed to reach 70 receiving yards in five of his six outings this season. When targeted, he's provided a passer rating of just 77.1.

The Alabama product is still searching for his first 1,000-yard season and is set to see a substantial pay raise in 2024, earning just under $13 million on his fifth-year option.

At that price, Jeudy might be more valuable to the Broncos in a trade than on the field. And Jeudy's trade value should be much higher now than it would be in the offseason.

According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, several teams are expected to be in the receiver market at the deadline.

"Wide receiver is a buzz-worthy position entering the deadline. People I've talked to believe the Colts, Packers, Panthers and Chiefs have at least monitored the receiver market in recent weeks," Fowler wrote on Friday.

As Fowler noted, the Chiefs may be out of the receiver market after acquiring Mecole Hardman from the New York Jets. However, there are likely to be a handful of teams seeking receiver help over the next week-plus.

This should help drive up any return the Broncos are able to get for Jeudy. The timing could also be a factor. Trading for just the final year of Jeudy's contract isn't as appealing as getting that and a half-season of his current base salary of $2.7 million.

Plus, in the spring, the Broncos would have to compete with a free-agent market that includes the likes of Tee Higgins, Michael Pittman Jr., Tyler Boyd, D.J. Chark Jr., Curtis Samuel and Mike Evans. Jeudy's market could be further limited by what appears to be another strong rookie receiver class.

The Bleacher Report Scouting Department recently ranked six wide receivers among its top 2024 draft prospects.

A strong return for Jeudy in the spring is unlikely unless the majority of the top impending free agents don't reach the open market.

If the Broncos are indeed getting calls on Jeudy now, as Rapoport reported, they must be willing to flip the switch on any reasonable offer. They're not winning anything of note this season, they shouldn't be willing to invest in Jeudy long-term, and their best chance to recoup some of their initial investment in him will come in the next few days.