The No. 1 free agent on the market this offseason will be Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. Could the 49ers try to sign him?

On the surface, it wouldn’t seem the 49ers could afford another high-priced wide receiver considering they already have Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. But Deebo Samuel is coming off arguably the worst season of his career and could get traded this offseason, and Aiyuk is coming off a brutal knee injury that could make him much less explosive when he eventually returns.

And that’s why the 49ers might want to sign Higgins. They’ve made two gigantic investments in the position that haven’t paid off. Clearly, they want a dominant wide receiver, so why wouldn’t they want Higgins?

University of North Carolina football general manager Michael Lombardi seems to like the idea of the 49ers signing Higgins.

“You put Tee Higgins on a team like the 49ers, my Lord. He could end up shining because they have other players around him,” Lombardi said. “Brandon Aiyuk would be even better with someone like Tee.”

If the 49ers don’t sign Higgins, he could end up on a division rival such as the Rams or the Cardinals — both teams have cap space and a need for a no. 1 wide receiver. At the very least, the 49ers could try to drive up Higgins’ price tag for those teams by entering the negotiation.

Do not underestimate Kyle Shanahan’s desire to have a dominant wide receiver.

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