It appears as though we finally have some clarity regarding the Cincinnati Bengals' offseason plan for star wide receiver Tee Higgins.
According to Bengals reporter James Rapien of Sports Illustrated, the team plans to use the franchise tag on Higgins for a second consecutive season. Higgins played under the franchise tag in 2024 after he failed to come to an agreement on a long-term extension with the Bengals last offseason.
By tagging him again, the Bengals will effectively block Higgins from hitting the open market in free agency. The tag would only keep Higgins under team control through the 2025 season, but the Bengals also plan to sign him to a long-term contract this offseason, per Rapien.
Bengals plan to use franchise tag on Tee Higgins, sign him to a long-term extension
This latest report should sound like music to the ears of Bengals fans. For so long, it felt like a foregone conclusion that Higgins would be signing elsewhere in free agency, but now it seems like not only has he not played his last game in a Bengals uniform, but he could continue to light it up in Cincinnati for years to come.
If the Bengals do plan to tag Higgins, they will have to do so in the next couple of weeks. The tag window for 2025 opens on Feb. 18 and closes on March 4, so the move must be made within that window.
Perhaps Joe Burrow's consistent campaigning and confidence paid off. Burrow was very adamant, and publicly so, about the fact that the Bengals needed to keep Higgins around.
"You just can’t let him outside of the building," Burrow said of Higgins. He also referred to Higgins as a "need" and expressed optimism that the team would be able to retain him.
"I am confident we are going to be able to do what it takes to bring Tee back," Burrow said in December. "... We’ve had those talks. Those are going to be offseason discussions but I think we are excited about that opportunity."
Burrow wields a lot of power within the Bengals organization, and when he sends a message as loudly as he did regarding Higgins' future, the team must take note.
Assuming that the team also agrees to an extension with Ja'Marr Chase this offseason, the trio of Burrow, Chase and Higgins could be playing together in Cincinnati for the foreseeable future. Obviously the financials will need to be hammered out, but this is certainly an exciting development for the Bengals.