In the wake of the NBA recently making headlines with a Kevin Durant-centric seven-team trade, some NFL watchers apparently want to get cute.
And so we have a four-team trade proposal that involves the Cincinnati giving up two stars for one ... though the one does happen to be Justin Jefferson.
Should we take this even a little bit seriously, even for a moment?
Sure. Briefly.
It's CBS Sports that is suggesting a four-team trade between the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns.
Who gets what?
The Bengals get receiver Justin Jefferson (Vikings), and defensive end Julian Okwara (Browns).
The Vikings get receiver Tee Higgins (Bengals), cornerback Greg Newsome II (Browns), a 2026 first-round pick (Bengals) and a 2026 third-round pick (Lions).
The Lions get: Trey Hendrickson (Bengals).
The Browns get: 2026 fourth-round pick (Lions).
So ...
The Browns get tangled up in this mess and essentially get nothing. Why bother?
The Lions get Hendrickson and only give up a third-rounder? Where do they sign up?
The Vikings replace Jefferson with Higgins and a first-round pick. They get worse.
And the Bengals lose Hendrickson and Higgins but get Jefferson. The Bengals pairing Jefferson with Ja'Marr Chase? Yes, that'd be an upgrade .. but the defense would suffer without Trey.
CBS admits that this is "outlandish,'' so we suppose it's OK to lean into the fun of it all. But it does ignore the money issues, it doesn't make the Bengals or the Browns better, and ... then there is this regarding multi-team trades: In the NBA, there are salary-matching reasons that fuel them.
The NFL doesn't have that.
So ... if the Bengals want to trade Hendrickson, why do they need three other teams? And if the Browns want to move Newsome, why do they need three other teams?