Update on Tee Higgins and Bengals’ potential use of the franchise tag

Will Higgins be on the Bengals roster when the 2024 NFL season kicks off?

Ever since the Cincinnati Bengals’ season ended, there’s been a growing belief that impending free agent Tee Higgins gets hit with the franchise tag.

Paul Dehner of The Athletic is adding to that belief.

Dehner reports that the expectation is that the Bengals will ultimately apply the franchise tag on Higgins before he can hit unrestricted free agency in March.

“The writing is on the wall and all expectations are the Bengals will use a franchise tag on Higgins,” Dehner wrote.

Dehner later wrote that it’s possible the Bengals apply the tag early in the window to help build trade interest around the league. The franchise tag dates run from February 20th to March 5th.

“One league source suggested the Bengals could place the tag early in the window as a statement acknowledging no long-term deal will be reached and opening the door for the rest of the league to consider or submit tag-and-trade offers,” Dehner wrote.

It’s far from the most ideal scenario for both sides, as they were hoping to get a deal done ahead of the 2023 season. That never came, and there was even a report that the Bengals didn’t view Higgins as a part of the team’s future, though it felt like something Higgins’ agent was pushing and did not come from Higgins himself.

Still, it feels like Higgins leaving Cincinnati is inevitable — largely because of Ja’Marr Chase being set to become one of the highest-paid wide receivers — though not until the 2025 season after playing under the tag in 2024. And as Dehner noted above, there’s a chance the Bengals deal Higgins away at some point, but I doubt that happens unless someone is willing to give up a first-round pick and maybe more to get Higgins.

Be sure to read Dehner’s full report at The Athletic.