Approval poll on Bengals using the franchise tag on Tee Higgins

It’s happened, to the surprise of nobody.

Well, it’s official, at least as official as something being tweeted by Ian Rapoport can be.

The Cincinnati Bengals are using their franchise tag on wide receiver Tee Higgins. He’ll be under contract, once he signs the tender, for one year and a fully guaranteed $21.816 million, for what would be the proverbial “last ride” with quarterback Joe Burrow and fellow wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.

It was pretty much common knowledge the Bengals were going to use the franchise tag on Higgins. The two sides were unable to come to terms on a long-term deal before the 2023 season after the Bengals were able to extend linebacker Logan Wilson and make Burrow the highest-paid player in league history.

Now the question is, what comes next? Conventional wisdom would say the Bengals will do what the Bengals have always done. Get as much production out of their stars as they can before they lose them to someone willing to dig deeper into their pockets than they are. However, considering the Bengals are able to enter negotiations with Chase now, they likely feel one year and $21 million is all they can spare.

And, of course, there’s always the chance they get really crazy and trade Higgins for what would surely be a first-round pick or more.

Now that it’s official, how do you feel about the Bengals using the tag on Higgins?