The Bengals are one step closer to bringing the band back together. Wide receiver Tee Higgins’ holdout with the Cincinnati Bengals could be coming to a close as early as today. The star pass catcher is expected to sign his franchise tag on Saturday and then will be front and center at training camp when it opens, according to ESPN. Higgins has been away from the team, working out on his own and did not attend the 3-day mandatory minicamp as he currently seeks a contract extension from the organization. While this puts a bandage on negotiations and ends his holdout, this latest report also indicates that the two sides coming to terms on a long-term deal that will provide Higgins security is considered not even close to happening.
The Bengals slapped the franchise tag on Higgins in late February, effectively stopping the 25-year-old from hitting the open market in free agency. Under the rules of the tag, Higgins will earn $21.816 million fully guaranteed for the 2024 season.
This tactic has become somewhat of the norm for the Bengals in recent years. After Higgins was tagged, it led to him asking for a trade, which was not granted by the team and ultimately led to him signing his tender. The same thing occurred with former Bengals players like safety Jessie Bates III and offensive tackle Jonah Williams.
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Bates’ situation somewhat mirrored Higgins’ as he was tagged by Cincinnati in 2022, which led to widespread chatter about a possible trade. In the end, he signed the tag and played that season before leaving for greener pastures in free agency. As for Williams, he requested a trade last offseason, but ended up staying with the franchise and played out the year before also taking his talents elsewhere in free agency earlier this offseason.
Earlier this week, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said he has been communicating with Higgins since the end of last season and embraced the idea of throwing with him before training camp begins in late July.
“Tee and I are always talking,” Burrow said. “I’ve seen Tee several times this offseason. He looks great. Whenever he’s ready to come back, I’ll be excited to see him.”
It remains to be seen if Higgins will follow down a similar path and ultimately leave the organization, however, it will be interesting to see how the Bengals handles his future, especially with the looming contract extension coming for fellow receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
Higgins has spent his entire 4-year career with the Bengals after the team drafted him in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Clemson. Since then, he has evolved into an elite wide out that should get him a considerable contract whenever he does reach free agency in the not-too-distant future. In his four seasons in the league, Higgins has eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving twice and has registered at least five touchdowns in each season.
Last year, Higgins was limited to 12 games due to a lingering hamstring injury. He finished the year with 656 yards and five touchdowns on 42 catches.
