Bengals ‘Hopeful’ About Re-Signing WR Tee Higgins

The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. writes the Bengals and WR Tee Higgins‘ camp keep using the word “hopeful” to describe the chances of him remaining in Cincinnati — which is a step up from this time last year when it seemed like everyone was resigned to 2024 being his final season with the Bengals. 

Dehner says the chances of Higgins being back still feel like a 50-50 proposition. Higgins could easily command $25-$30 million per year and possibly more as a free agent, per Dehner, and the Bengals would have to balance that deal against current and pressing cap commitments and still leave room to shore up a bad defense and leaky interior offensive line. So there are real hurdles to overcome. 

No one involved has committed to any definitive percentages or numbers regarding what an acceptable deal for Higgins could look like alongside a new deal for WR Ja’Marr Chase and QB Joe Burrow‘s $55 million per year contract, though it’s notable that Higgins changed agents and now shares representation with Chase. Dehner does believe a second franchise tag is not an option that either side wants. 

He also points out things have changed since last offseason. The Bengals drafted third-round WR Jermaine Burton as a potential Higgins alternative, but he’s had a disastrous start to his pro career. Cincinnati likes third-year WR Andrei Iosivas but he looked more like a solid No. 3 than a budding No. 2 in 2024. The offense was also clearly better with Higgins on the field, though he once again battled small nagging injuries that kept him out of games and limited him in others. 

More than anything, though, Dehner highlights the support of Burrow as a huge factor in why the Bengals could be motivated to do what it takes to keep Higgins. Burrow made it a point several times throughout the last month of the season to stump for Higgins. 

“Tee is a need,” Burrow said, adding in another interview, “When you have a guy like that, you just can’t let him get out of the building.”

On Saturday after Cincinnati’s last game, Burrow made a final statement of his case.

“We came in together and we’ve built this thing from the ground up,” Burrow said. “Tee is a great player and a guy that does everything the right way and works really hard for it.”

“He’s a one-of-a-kind person, one-of-a-kind player, and one that we really count on and is an integral part of what we do around here.”

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

He was set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2024 when the Bengals placed the franchise tag on him, which cost the team around $21.8 million fully guaranteed for the 2024 season. 

In 2024, Higgins appeared in 12 games for the Bengals and recorded 73 receptions on 109 targets for 911 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns. 

We have him included in our Top 100 2025 NFL Free Agents list.