Andrew Whitworth reveals how he would've handled Bengals' dilemma with Tee Higgins, Ja'Marr Chase
Very few know the Cincinnati Bengals' style of business like Andrew Whitworth. The future Hall of Fame offensive lineman spent over a decade in Cincinnati, and his exit from the team became a story of its own.The shortened version goes like this: Whitworth was still playing at a high level despite entering his mid-30s in […]
Very few know the Cincinnati Bengals' style of business like Andrew Whitworth. The future Hall of Fame offensive lineman spent over a decade in Cincinnati, and his exit from the team became a story of its own.
The shortened version goes like this: Whitworth was still playing at a high level despite entering his mid-30s in 2015. The Bengals drafted not one, but two potential replacements to prepare for his departure. He threatened to retire during that season if he didn't some form of commitment from the team. He received a one-year extension and eventually left in free agency of 2017.
Those replacements, Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher, didn't pan out. Whitworth went on to play at an All-Pro level for the Los Angeles Rams and defeated his former team in the Super Bowl for his final game.
Whitworth got the last laugh, but he understands how harsh the business side of the NFL can be. His solution to the Bengals' current problem proves that.
What Andrew Whitworth would've done with Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase
Much mystery and frustration has surrounded the fates of Bengals wide receivers Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase. The Bengals have tried and failed to extend both players thus far over the past two years. Higgins is currently on the franchise tag, and Chase still has another year left on his rookie contract thanks to the fifth-year option.
The more time passes, the less likely the Bengals will be able to keep both around for the long-term. Whitworth knows as much as anyone, which is why if it was up to him, one of the two would've been traded from the team all the way back in 2023.
"I'm one of these guys that, you know, some fans are gonna hate my take on this, but I thought that they should have traded Tee or Ja'Marr years ago," Whitworth said to The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. in an interview. "Like I really thought after, you know, really that second stint where they go back, they almost make it back to the Super Bowl, lose to the Chiefs, I thought they needed to make a decision."
Whitworth, referring to the 2023 AFC Championship Game that Cincinnati lost to Kansas City by a field goal, believed that was the time to offload one of the receivers for an influx of draft picks. Not because it wasn't worth keeping both around, but because it was the best way for the club to reload the roster for future playoff runs.
"I love both guys, I think both guys are amazing football players. But the truth is, you are the Cincinnati Bengals. You have been successful when you've drafted well. When you've nailed the draft, you've been successful and you just added little veteran pieces at times. You're never some team that's gonna live in a splash free agency world. It's not who you are.
"So guess what you have to do when you hit? Well, we gotta choose a couple of them, and we gotta take the other one, and we gotta go get lots more draft picks so that we can play the odds game that we can do it again and get some more good draft picks and keep having an influx of talent on our team," Whitworth explained. "Instead of, let's hold on to the last second, and then maybe we can't pay all these guys now and they're just gonna walk out of here, or they're gonna get out of here without us getting anything in return."
Instead of trading Higgins or Chase and paying one of them, the Bengals have held onto both and neither have gotten paid yet. Higgins is 10 times more likely to find his desired deal on the open market than from his current team, and a deal for Chase will be the team's top priority next offseason like it was a few months ago.
All of this inaction was simultaneous to the team whiffing more often in free agency than they did back from 2020-22, which helped them reach back-to-back conference title games and a Super Bowl appearance. Their draft capital remained unchanged as well, and there are more questions than answers with the two most recent classes.
It all seems to back Whitworth's point. The Bengals do well with more swings, and if they aren't going to keep both of their star wideouts together for the long haul, at least trading one of them would've given them a chance to be ahead of where they are now.
"I've got to make a decision that may not be everybody's favorite decision, but it's the best opportunity we have to sustain success and to continue to grow," Whitworth said.
The most likely outcome after this season is Higgins leaving and Chase being extended. Higgins was always the variable who made more sense to trade, but the Bengals never like to deal away their best players. It's an old fashioned philosophy that can sometimes hurt them more than it helps.
Take it from a player like Whitworth who knows their business inside and out. His path sounds pretty good right now.
Joe Burrow’s reaction to Khalil Herbert trade is exactly why the Bengals needed to make a trade deadline move
Burrow approves of the new addition.
