Bengals Expected To Franchise WR Tee Higgins This Offseason

According to Paul Dehner Jr., based on discussions with team and league sources, all expectations are that the Bengals will franchise tag WR Tee Higgins this offseason. 

Dehner adds the expectation is the Bengals will try and reach an agreement on a long-term deal but notes the two sides didn’t get particularly close last summer. 

While the Bengals have flexibility with their cap situation to carry Higgins on the tag in 2024, keeping him, QB Joe Burrow and WR Ja’Marr Chase on long-term deals beyond that could be challenging. 

For this year at least, however, it seems like it’s more likely than not that Higgins is in Cincinnati. Burrow said after the season he expected Higgins back. Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin was less definitive but did say they would prefer to keep Higgins. 

“Trading a high-level player that’s under contract just because the future might demand it, that’s never really on my mind. We’ll see what happens this year. I want Tee Higgins back. Everyone on our team would like to have Tee Higgins back. Again, there’s one pie and how big of a slice that takes and what else we can’t do because of it, we’ll have to determine, and we’ll see,” said Tobin, via Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer. 

The tag is projected to be around $20.7 million and will be fully guaranteed for the 2024 season. 

The deadline for the Bengals to use the tag is March 5, and Cincinnati can negotiate a long-term deal with Higgins until July 15, at which point both sides have to play out the contract. 

Higgins, 25, is a former second-round pick by the Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Clemson. He just finished the final year of a four-year, $8,686,785 rookie contract and made a base salary of $2,993,000 in 2023. 

Higgins is set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2024.

In 2023, Higgins appeared in 12 games for the Bengals and recorded 42 receptions on 76 targets for 656 yards receiving and five touchdowns.

We have him included in our Top 100 2024 NFL Free Agents list.