Bengals News: Tee Higgins extension numbers, Joe Mixon sticking around, and more
In Bengals news, Tee Higgins is going to earn a lot of money in the offseason. Also, it appears that Joe Mixon is sticking around.
It's going to cost a lot of money to keep Higgins, at least if the projections end up being true. Higgins was previously projected to earn a four-year deal worth $97 million by PFF's Brad Spielberger. If that's how much it costs to keep Higgins, it's hard to imagine the Bengals being able to keep him, Joe Burrow, and Ja'Marr Chase.
Speaking of offensive players, Mixon is someone who previously received a nice deal from the Bengals. He's coming off a year where he didn't play all that well and was going to be a $12 million cap hit in 2023 but it appears as though he'll be sticking around as the starting running back of the Bengals.
Here's what's trending in Bengals news.
Justin Jefferson, Next NFL WRs Set to Break the Bank with Massive Contract Extensions [Alex Ballentine, Bleacher Report]
"Unless Higgins specifically gives the Bengals a discount to keep the nucleus together, his extension is probably going to exceed Spotrac's projection."
- Alex Ballentine
For what it's worth, the Spotrac projection for Higgins is $20.1 million annually. As Ballentine notes, unless Higgins gives the team a nice discount, signing him is going to be expensive and with Burrow and Chase also due for extensions, can they afford all three?
Joe Mixon Rumors: Bengals Set to Keep RB 'As of Now' amid Release Buzz over Contract [Joseph Zucker, Bleacher Report]
"ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on SportsCenter "there hasn't been a lot of momentum around" cutting Mixon. Doing so would allow Cincinnati to save $10 million against the salary cap for the upcoming season."
- From Zucker's article
It sure didn't feel as though Mixon would still be on the team given his expensive cap hit and legal problems this offseason. The Bengals clearly decided that they're better with Mixon than without.
dark. Next. Last Season. 3 Bengals Definitely Entering Their Last Season With Team
Top 101 NFL free agents of 2023: DeAndre Hopkins, Yannick Ngakoue among best available [Gregg Rosenthal, NFL.com]
This was updated on Monday after Leonard Floyd signed with the Buffalo Bills. Rosenthal says the top five free-agents remaining are DeAndre Hopkins, Yannick Ngakoue, Jadeveon Clowney, Dalton Risner, and Marcus Peters. All of these are fits for the Bengals except for Hopkins.