Tee Higgins is likely to return to Cincinnati for the 2024 season. According to The Athletic, if the two parties are
unable to reach an agreement on a long-term extension, the Bengals would franchise tag their star receiver before
free agency. The Bengals have until March 5 to tag Higgins, who, if signed, will earn $20.7 million for the upcoming
season.
According to the source, it appears that Higgins will be tagged sooner rather than later. This would offer the Bengals
two viable choices for Higgins going forward. Tagging him early would allow other teams to make tag-and-trade
proposals, but it would imply that the Bengals are eager to part with Higgins, which is improbable. The more likely
scenario is that the two sides continue to work toward reaching a long-term agreement before the July 15 deadline,
and if one is not achieved, the wideout will be tagged.
Historically, the Bengals have released guys they tagged a year later. This was the case for wide receiver A.J. Green in
2020 and safety Jessie Bates III in 2022.
Will Higgins follow suit? It’s hard to say because he hasn’t even been tagged for the following season. A lot can
happen between now and the season, assuming Higgins has been tagged. It will mostly rely on how much the
Bengals are willing to invest in both Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, who is approaching the final year of his rookie
contract.
The club will pick up Chase’s fifth-year option this offseason, and he will almost certainly sign a long-term contract
next offseason. Given his performance, Chase will most certainly receive a deal that will place him among the
league’s highest-paid wide receivers. The Bengals already had the NFL’s highest-paid player, quarterback Joe
Burrow, who signed his contract before the start of this season.
Given the receiver market, Higgins is projected to earn a minimum of $20 million year. Assuming Chase earns a deal
worth at least $25 million per season, the Bengals will spend at least $45 million per year on two receivers if they
choose to re-sign Higgins. That would account for around 19% of the team’s salary cap assuming it reaches at least
$240 million in 2025 (it should be higher).
