The Cincinnati Bengals have officially used the franchise tag on star wide receiver Tee Higgins for a second consecutive season. By tagging Higgins again, the Bengals basically blocked him from hitting free agency, and they now control his football future, at least for the 2025 NFL season.
With Higgins now tagged, the Bengals basically have three options when it comes to the star pass-catcher moving forward. Let's take a look at them.
Sign Tee Higgins to a long-term deal
Now that Higgins has been tagged, again, the two sides can continue to work towards a long-term extension, which is the stated goal of the organization.
“Tee Higgins is a fantastic football player, and I want him on my football team,” Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin said at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. “Whenever I’m in charge of a football team, I want Tee Higgins, and so I’m going to do what I can to get Tee Higgins. Our preference with Tee Higgins is to do a long-term agreement. Always has been, it continues to be, and we’ll work hard to get that done."
The two sides now have until July 15 to agree to an extension, as that's the deadline for organization to sign tagged players to long-term deals. So, that's a date that Bengals fans will definitely want to circle on the calendar.
Higgins lands elsewhere, but Bengals get compensated
Even though he's been tagged, the Bengals could still trade Higgins, or allow him to sign elsewhere for compensation. By tagging him, they basically ensured that they wouldn't lose him for nothing in free agency.
Under the non-exclusive tag, a tagged player can negotiate with other teams. However his current team has the right to match any outside offers or receive two first-round draft picks as compensation if he signs with another club. So basically, the Bengals would have an opportunity to match any outside offers for Higgins. If they decided not to match, they would get two first-round picks in return.
A trade for a tagged player can only occur after the player has signed the tender with his current team.
Higgins plays out the season under the tag, again
The final option facing Higgins and the Bengals following the tag is that Higgins simply plays out the 2025 season on the tag, like he did in 2024. This wouldn't be the ideal scenario for either side, as it would mean that no multi-year deal was reached, and Higgins would almost assuredly be unhappy about the lack of long-term security.
The franchise tender would pay Higgins $26.2 million for the '25 season. So, in this scenario, Higgins would make that amount of money next season and then be scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency in 2026.
Technically, the Bengals could then place the tag on Higgins for a third and final time next year, as teams are only allowed to tag the same player three times. However, the price for a third tag is prohibitive, as no player has ever been tagged three times.