Broncos should make this blockbuster trade, win or lose vs. Ravens on Sunday

Regardless of the outcome of the Denver Broncos' game on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, there is one obvious trade to be made for this team. There is one move to go and get a playmaker that should not hinge on the team being 6-3 or 5-4 going into Chiefs week, and it would arguably be the boldest move of the entire 2024 NFL trade deadline.

That move, in case you didn't guess it based on the photo attached to this post, is a move to go and get Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. It might cost the Broncos a very high draft pick (and something else), but Higgins is absolutely a player the Denver Broncos should pursue if the Bengals are even remotely taking offers to acquire him.

The Bengals play against the Raiders on Sunday, so they're likely to win and improve to 4-5, but their record may not matter when it comes to Higgins's availability, either. Higgins has seemingly been trying to get out of Cincinnati for some time because the Bengals refuse to pay him on a long-term contract. The Broncos just so happen to need a bona finde WR1 type of target in the passing game for rookie quarterback Bo Nix, and Higgins would fit the bill.

Broncos should trade for Tee Higgins at 2024 NFL trade deadline

We're just noticing a number of things right now, and none of this necessarily means the Broncos are actively pursuing Tee Higgins, but Sean Payton made a comment about getting different wide receivers after two bad fumbles against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

Then, Payton noted at his press availability on Wednesday that "there are discussions" happening regarding trades and he also dropped a very important nugget that might be worth reading into:

"Remember there’s a trade, and then there’s the contract involved in the trade which is the devil in the details with any player."

- Sean Payton, via Broncos PR)

It just so happens that Tee Higgins is looking for a new contract, which would obviously make this a more complicated deal than just saying, "Hey, we want this player. We'll give you this draft pick for him." It's not that simple in this instance. Payton could also be referring to the transferring of a contract in a trade and how you do salary cap gymnastics with that, but either way, that anecdote was interesting for him to drop.

NFL insider Tom Pelissero said that edge rushers and wide receivers are the big names on the market that could be available at this year's deadline in an interview recently with Rich Eisen:

The Broncos could even ship the Bengals Courtland Sutton as well as a draft pick for Higgins to soften the blow of losing a playmaker like that in the middle of the year. But adding a guy like Higgins would obviously be a signal-fire that the Broncos are moving on from Sutton at some point or another.

And to add another layer of intrigue to this tinfoil hat theory, the Broncos got Sutton's base salary down to under $2 million before the season. Any team acquiring Sutton at this year's deadline would be acquiring virtually nothing on their salary cap books in terms of his contract.

The Broncos have ample cap space available beyond this year and are expected to be aggressive in 2025 as it is. The 2025 NFL Draft class is considered to have a potentially absurdly low number of 1st-round graded talents. With the playoffs a legitimate possibility this year as well as your head coach believing he's found a franchise quarterback, the idea of adding a playmaker has plenty of merit, even for a high cost.

The timing is probably just coincidental, but with the trade deadline looming on Tuesday, November 5, Higgins is set to miss a second straight game with a quad injury. Like I said, the timing is probably just coincidental, but the Bengals' season is kind of on the line right now and he's not playing. Teams will obviously hold guys out if there's a possibility of a trade because if the player gets hurt, the trade is off.

And for Higgins, much more than just the temporary gratification of being traded is at stake. There may be a long-term contract on the line.

Would the Broncos pull off something this aggressive? It doesn't feel likely, but you never know what is being cooked up behind the scenes. And this is a bold move that would make a lot of sense in Denver's current context.