Bengals Insider: Tee Higgins Long-Term Contract ‘Seems to Be Unlikely’; May Eye Trade

Tee Higgins could be playing out his final season as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Per ESPN’s Ben Baby, it “seems to be unlikely” the Bengals and Higgins will reach agreement on a long-term contract and they could attempt a tag-and-trade option next offseason.

The Green Bay Packers used this approach with Davante Adams after the 2021 season. They were trying to negotiate a new deal with him after placing the franchise tag on him, but he made it clear to them he wanted a trade to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Green Bay got a first- and second-round draft pick from the Raiders for Adams, who signed a five-year, $141.25 million deal with his new team after the trade.

There was trade speculation involving Higgins this past offseason that Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin immediately and defiantly squashed.

“If they want a receiver, go find your own,” Tobin told reporters at the NFL scouting combine. “In my opinion, Tee Higgins is a good piece for the Cincinnati Bengals. The trade stuff is a little ridiculous right now.”

It was being talked as a potential option because the Bengals are facing a potential salary-cap crunch soon. Joe Burrow signed a five-year, $275 million extension that made him the highest-paid player in the NFL by average annual salary ($55 million).

Ja’Marr Chase will be eligible to sign an extension after the 2023 season. Higgins, a second-round pick in the 2020 draft, is in the final season of his rookie deal.

The Bengals and Higgins had extension talks during the offseason, but the two sides were unable to agree to terms. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Paul Dehner Jr. reported on Sept. 11 the 24-year-old wideout wouldn’t negotiate during the season.

One problem potentially facing the Bengals in trying to keep Burrow, Higgins and Chase all together is the way guaranteed money and escrow rules impact a “cash-poor” owner, like Mike Brown, when trying to hand out big-money deals.

NFL rules require team owners to deposit all of the guaranteed money in a player’s contract into an escrow account. The rule dates back to an era when it was possible a team may have run out of money to pay for a future guarantee.

It seems unlikely in this era, with the NFL making $12 billion in revenue, any franchise will have major financial issues. But the salary cap is a real issue that teams have to deal with every year.

As things currently stand, the Bengals have spent more against the 2024 cap than any other team ($176.4 million). Over the Cap estimates the franchise tag for wide receivers will be worth $22.9 million next year.

Higgins would certainly be an attractive trade chip for the Bengals if they decide to place the franchise tag on him and trade him to another club. He’s had at least 908 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons, including back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2021 and 2022.