When the 2024 NFL season gets underway, will Higgins be a member of the Bengals roster?
There has been increasing speculation that Tee Higgins, an upcoming free agent, may receive the franchise tag ever since the Cincinnati Bengals’ season concluded.
The Athletic’s Paul Dehner is strengthening that notion.
According to Dehner, it’s anticipated that Higgins will eventually receive the franchise tag from the Bengals before he is eligible to sign free agency in March.
Dehner stated, “The writing is on the wall and everyone expects the Bengals to use a franchise tag on Higgins.”
Later, Dehner speculated that the Bengals would use the tag early in the trade window to generate interest from other teams in trades around the league. The dates of the franchise tag are February 20–March 5.According to a league source, the Bengals might apply the tag early in the window to signal that no long-term agreement will be made and to give other teams in the league time to think about or make tag-and-trade offers, according to Dehner.
For both parties, it’s far from the best situation; they had hoped to reach an agreement before the 2023 season. That never materialised, and there was even a rumor—albeit one that seemed to emanate from Higgins’ agent rather than the player himself—that the Bengals didn’t see Higgins as a member of the team’s future.
Even still, it seems probable that Higgins will leave Cincinnati, mainly because Ja’Marr Chase will likely become one of the highest-paid wide receivers; however, this won’t happen until the 2025 season, after he played in 2024 with a tag. There’s also a chance, as Dehner previously mentioned, that the Bengals trade Higgins at some time, but I doubt that occurs until someone is prepared to forfeit a first-round selection and possibly more in order to acquire Higgins.
