The Houston Texans need to make their offense a priority this offseason. Quarterback C.J. Stroud regressed after an impressive rookie season and the offense went in the tank partly due to injuries and the struggles of departed offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik.

While the Texans made a home run hire bringing in Nick Caley from the Los Angeles Rams to replace Slowik, there’s still more work to be done specifically at receiver. The Texans traded for Stefon Diggs last offseason and enjoyed a breakout by Nico Collins in 2024 but the unit was still ravaged by injuries as Diggs tore his ACL and Tank Dell suffered a dislocated knee cap to go with damage to his ACL and MCL.

With Diggs a free agent and Dell’s timetable for recovery unknown, the Texans have to find another weapon and they may get some help after a potential target’s comments on Monday.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins is one of the top receivers set to hit the free agent market after playing on the franchise tag last season. The Bengals star told FOX19’s Joe Danneman that he would like to stay in Cincinnati next season but also understands the business side of things and admitted he would be OK if he has to go somewhere else.

“Yeah, of course, we all want to keep the core pieces what it is,” Higgins said. “…We want to build something here in Cincy. But you know, it’s not in my hands right now. So I gotta do what I need to do, and if that’s go to another team, that’s what happens.”

Higgins’ future with the Bengals is complicated. The Clemson product had a strong season catching 73 passes for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns last season but Cincinnati also needs to pay fellow receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who won the NFL’s Triple Crown for receiving last year. With Joe Burrow’s five-year, $275 million contract on the books, paying two receivers top dollar seems like a questionable decision – especially after Cincinnati ranked 25th in total defense and 26th in scoring defense last season.

It’s a situation where Houston would be happy to take Higgins off the Bengals’ hands. The Texans are currently $90,947 over the salary cap entering the offseason but just signed Collins to a three-year, $72.75 million contract last offseason. With Stroud on a rookie deal, the Texans could make some unexpected moves to free up more cap space and land Higgins, who is currently projected to earn a free agent contract worth $25.4 million by Spotrac.

Whatever the cost, the Texans would be wise to invest in another receiver and Higgins seems like he has come to grasps that if he wants to get paid, he’ll have to do it somewhere other than Cincinnati.