Dec 28, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) walks off the field after the victory over the Denver Broncos at Paycor Stadium.

nfl

The Bengals Put Franchise Tag On Tee Higgins, Once Again!

It's Tee Higgins tag 2.0. Bengals still working to seal the deal!

Dec 28, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) walks off the field after the victory over the Denver Broncos at Paycor Stadium.

The Cincinnati Bengals know they have something good on their hands. The offensive side of the ball is in good shape with quarterback Joe Burrow under center and wideout Ja’Marr Chase leading the receivers room. The only problem is that their superstars are all due contract renewals and Chase is expecting to reset the non-QB market by becoming the highest paid player outside of signal callers.

Nonetheless, Cincinnati understands what is at stake and credit to them they are trying their level best to hang on to all of them. The Bengals also have negotiations ongoing with defensive end Trey Hendrickson, and amidst all this, Burrow has offered to restructure his contract in a bid to keep all the key pieces around him.

Cincinnati may have slipped up badly in 2024, but the truth of the matter is they are still a top contender in the AFC and keeping Higgins allows them to keep their Super Bowl window open. Therefore, having already tagged Higgins in 2024 for $21 million, the Bengals have done the same for the second year running. The amount, however, has gone up to $26 million.

The #Bengals have, in fact, franchise tagged WR Tee Higgins a second time, per @teehiggins5.

No surprise, as Cincy is not in the business of letting good players walk away. They’ll hope to do a long-term deal after the more than $26M tag. pic.twitter.com/XW56WgiW6a
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 3, 2025

Is There A Future For Higgins In Cincinnati?

The news coming from the Bengals camp is loud and clear. They are trying to extend Higgins further, but for the second year running are unable to reach a mutual number. These negotiations won’t be easy with WR1 Chase looking to become the highest paid non-QB, and star defender Hendrickson will also be commanding a boat-load of money. Hendrickson, who is 30 years old, resigned a one-year extension last season for $21 million.

Also Read: Will Sam Darnold still be in Minnesota in 2025?

With so much going on, Cincinnati will have a hard time keeping everyone happy. Irrespective, they are looking at all possible ways to ensure Higgins continues for years to come but it may prove to be out of their reach.

Could Higgins Still Be Traded?

Simply put, yes, Tee Higgins and the Bengals could eventually part ways if both parties do not reach a mutual agreement. Cincinnati could decide on trading Higgins, which will not only free some cap space but also get them significant draft capital in return.

If the Bengals do end up going down that road, there will be potential suitors for them. A move for the wideout by the New England Patriots could make the most sense given that they have plenty of cap space, a bunch of draft picks (9), and they need help in their receiver room as well.

Cincinnati Bengals

franchise tag 2025

NFL

Tee Higgins

Devavrat Kulkarni

nfl

I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!