The Cincinnati Bengals are expected to use the franchise tag on wideout Tee Higgins to try and keep their offensive trio of Higgins, Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase intact.
However, the situation could get even more complicated with NFL insider Jordan Schultz reporting Chase will command at least $40 million per year on his next contract extension.
The Bengals are middle-of-the-pack in salary cap space, and they might be in a situation where they’d have to sign Chase to a historic extension, pay Higgins like a top receiver and pay for Burrow’s massive contract.
Granted, Burrow has been open to a contract restructuring to help with some number crunching, but will it be enough to make it work? More importantly, how much money would Higgins want to stay in Cincy?
Higgins was set to hit the open market, where teams like the New England Patriots would have made him one of the NFL’s highest-paid receivers. The Bengals blocking that and potentially lowballing him on a contract might not go over well.
Would Higgins be willing to play on a mercenary contract for a second straight year, or would he force the Bengals’ hand by threatening to hold out? Sure, the organization wants to win a Super Bowl, and keeping a player as talented as Higgins would help them do it.
But at 26 years old, Higgins might be staring at a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to maximize his value. The Patriots are uniquely positioned to offer up one of their two third-round draft picks in a trade with the Bengals, while also signing Higgins to a massive contract extension.
Even if it is unlikely, this situation isn’t dead yet.