I Am Done Here: Four Bengals Elite Star Announced A Departure….

The veteran is expected to become a free agent for the first time.

CINCINNATI — Could future Hall of Famer Mike Evans be set to join a Bengals’ rival this offseason?

The 5-time Pro Bowler has topped the 1,000-yard receiving mark in each of his 10 NFL seasons. He’s set to become a free agent for the first time. He’s focused on joining a contender.

“Mike wants to play with an elite quarterback in an offense that will showcase him—and be paid like a top wide receiver,” Evans’ agent Deryk Gilmore told Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz. “He doesn’t want to play with a rookie QB. Winning a Super Bowl is a key priority.”

The Ravens and the Chiefs are two obvious options. They’re Super Bowl contenders, have elite quarterbacks and need wide receiver help.

The Bengals aren’t expected to make a run at Evans after they tagged Tee Higgins. They’re also hoping to sign Ja’Marr Chase to a long-term extension.

It wouldn’t be a surprising to see Evans join a Bengals rival this offseason

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One particular player on the Cincinnati Bengals would benefit from a change of scenery over the offseason, according to ESPN. Despite rushing for over 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns last season, Joe Mixon was listed as a player who could use a fresh start.

From ESPN:

“Mixon restructured his contract in 2023 to lower his cap hit. While Mixon was productive last season in gaining more than 1,400 scrimmage yards, even a reduction to his cap charge of $8.5 million might not be enough of a reason for the team to keep him in his current role.”

Mixon is clearly still a productive player, so if the Bengals decided to part ways with him, it would be a financial decision. When it comes to Mixon’s future with the franchise, March 18 is the key date to know, as Mixon has a $3 million roster bonus for next season that becomes fully guaranteed on that date.

Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin was noncommittal while speaking about Mixon’s future with the franchise recently, but he did say that he doesn’t view the roster bonus as an issue when it comes to the team’s offseason approach.

“It doesn’t complicate it,” Tobin said. “We put it in there for a reason. And his agent wanted it in there for a reason. From our strategy standpoint and what we intend to do, I’m not going to get into that with any of our players.”

If the Bengals did end up cutting him loose, Mixon would quickly catch on elsewhere. He’s still just 27 years old, so he should still have several seasons of productive play in front of him. His ability to operate as a dual-threat back should make him especially attractive to outside teams. He had over 375 receiving yards in each of the past two seasons.

The Cincinnati Bengals applied the franchise tag to Tee Higgins. While that means that the Chicago Bears cannot sign him in free agency this offseason, the door is still open for a trade. The Bengals have actually been pretty open to the idea of a trade, and considering the Bears have plenty of cap space, they could be the team calling. The only issue is the trade compensation.

Why the Chicago Bears trading for Tee Higgins would be complicated

As the Chicago Bears currently stand, they pick first overall and ninth overall. Then, they do not pick until the 75th, the middle of the third round. While the Cincinnati Bengals have not shown their exact price tag for Higgins, most recent trades surrounding talented wide receivers who are due a new contract will be traded for a late first or an early second-round pick. This is simply something the Bears do not have.

The ninth pick is far too much for Tee Higgins. If Rome Odunze, he is a better deal on his rookie contract than trading for Higgins to pay him. The pick would have to be later. However, the Bengals do not want to pick 75 for Higgins and know that they could get significantly more. So much more that the Bears would have to give up the rest of their draft or move future picks to make it happen.

The issue with the future picks comes down to their quarterback situation. Drafting Caleb Williams opens the door to a wide range of possibilities. They could take a year to gel and struggle, or he could be like C.J. Stoud, and Chicago could be in the playoffs next year. So, trading the pick could be anywhere from the top ten to the bottom ten and in between.

Overall, this makes trading future picks off the table altogether. A future first could be just right if Williams excels immediately, but if Chicago struggles, it is way too much. A future second could be just right if Williams struggles out of the gates, but if he plays well and that pick is closer to 60 than 30, Cincinnati does not want it.

The Bears would have to trade down from pick nine and use the assets acquired to add Higgins via trade this offseason. Otherwise, more players would have to get involved. This seems like too much for the Chicago Bears to work out a trade for Tee Higgins.