Tee Higgins

Tee Higgins could be due for a massive contract this offseason.

Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver's market is expected to be around $30 million per year.

"The over/under on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins' market is $30 million per season, and the majority of team personnel that I spoke with believe he'll hit or clear the over," Fowler wrote. "The lowest estimate I heard was somewhere slightly above DeVonta Smith's three-year, $75 million deal. The rest saw him breaking into the $30 million range, based on his status as a No. 1-caliber receiver and the number of teams desperate for pass-catching help."

Higgins performed well on his rookie deal and the franchise tag contract the Bengals gave him this season. He had 908 receiving yards and six touchdowns as a rookie before posting back-to-back 1,000-plus receiving yard seasons in 2021 and 2022. He dealt with injuries last season, limiting him to 12 games, 656 yards and five touchdowns.

This season, Higgins once again played just 12 games but racked up 911 yards and 10 touchdowns. He posted those kinds of numbers while playing behind the Bengals' No. 1 option Ja'Marr Chase, who led the league in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns this year.

Assuming Higgins is given the reigns as a No. 1 receiver, he could put some of the best numbers in the league.

It seems Higgins has no plans to elongate his free agency this offseason. The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported on her podcast, Scoop City, that Higgins "wants to have an answer" about his contract "very soon."

That could give the advantage to the Bengals since they'll be working from the inside.

Staying in Cincinnati might prevent Higgins from being the No. 1 option, but he, Chase and Burrow have had past success and could perhaps be the trio that brings the Bengals a championship.

As much as staying loyal to a team might appeal to Higgins, a massive contract from another team might be too much to turn down.

All eyes are on the wide receiver position for the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason, and that reportedly means a willingness to offer a "massive" signing bonus to Ja'Marr Chase.

ESPN's Dan Graziano reported Friday that the AFC North team "is likely to offer a massive signing bonus to try to convince Chase to sign while still holding to its policy" of not offering guaranteed money outside of the signing bonus for long-term deals.

Quarterback Joe Burrow's contract was the one understandable exception to that policy.

If Chase goes for this, it could mean a higher signing bonus than the $38 million one CeeDee Lamb landed from the Dallas Cowboys before the 2024 campaign.

It is something of a tricky situation for the Bengals' front office considering fellow wide receiver Tee Higgins is a free agent this offseason after playing the 2024 campaign on the franchise tag. The team will have to decide whether it wants to commit an exorbitant amount of resources to the position by keeping them both long term.

But it is nearly impossible to argue against keeping Chase.

After all, he finished with the receiving triple crown in 2024 by leading the league in catches (127), receiving yards (1,708) and receiving touchdowns (17). He surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in each of his four seasons in the league and is arguably the best player at his position in the NFL.

His quarterback also wants him back.

"Week in and week out, he continues to make unbelievable plays, makes people miss, scores 50-plus-yard touchdowns," Burrow said when asked about Chase during ESPN's broadcast of the Pro Bowl Games on Thursday. "I mean, I don't know what more he could do to show and prove himself.

"We have several guys like that who have stepped up for us and deserve to be paid, and deserve to be paid what they're worth."

It seems like the Bengals are willing to pay Chase a significant amount.

Tee Higgins is going to get paid a lot of money from a team this offseason, but he's not expected to sign a deal at the very top of the wide-receiver market.

Per ESPN's Dan Graziano, the sense from some people around the NFL is that Higgins could sign for a deal worth more than Jaylen Waddle in average annual value and more guaranteed money than DeVonta Smith got on his extension from the Philadelphia Eagles.

On the latest episode of The Scoop City podcast (starts at 34:00 mark), The Athletic's Dianna Russini noted that Higgins "wants to have an answer" for what's next in his career "very soon" and he doesn't want things with the Cincinnati Bengals to drag out into the start of free agency.

Waddle signed a three-year, $84.75 million extension ($28.25 million per season) with the Miami Dolphins last offseason. Smith's three-year, $75 million extension with Philadelphia included just under $70 million in guaranteed money.

The $28.25 million average annual salary for Waddle ranks seventh among all receivers. Smith's total guaranteed money is the ninth-most among all players at the position.

All indications are the Bengals won't pay to keep Higgins when they also have to extend Ja'Marr Chase. General manager Duke Tobin told Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer on Thursday that "it's going to be hard" to keep both receivers.

"We feel like we have the resources to do it, but it all depends on how the negotiation goes and whether they're willing to accept wanting to come back at a number that makes sense for everybody."

Conway reported last offseason that Cincinnati's offer to Higgins "never approached" $20 million per season, so the idea the team would suddenly go to $28-29 million annually on a new deal seems hard to fathom.

It's not like everyone just became aware that Higgins is good and extremely valuable to the Bengals. He averaged more than 1,000 yards and six touchdowns per season in his first three seasons from 2020 to '22.

Joe Burrow spent a lot of time in the final month of the regular season campaigning for the organization to keep Higgins. The Bengals also have to address their defense, which ranked 25th in points allowed this season, if they want to get back to being a top-tier AFC contender in 2025.

The door for Higgins to return to Cincinnati next season might still be open, but it could close quickly depending on how talks between the two sides go leading up to the start of free agency on March 12.

Joe Burrow's public attempts to encourage the Cincinnati Bengals to keep both of their star wide receivers don't seem likely to pay off.

Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, executives around the NFL are "skeptical" the Bengals will pay up to give both Tee Higgins a new contract and sign Ja'Marr Chase to a long-term extension.

One executive for an AFC team told Fowler it's "possible" for the Bengals to do it, but they would have to make "significant trade-offs" in other areas on the roster to make it happen.

"They will have close to $70 million a year tied up in receivers, plus the quarterback cost. I think it makes more sense to go the cheap route, especially given the improvements they need to make on defense," the executive said.

It has felt like a foregone conclusion for about 10 months that Higgins would be playing on another team in 2025. The Bengals used the franchise tag last offseason to keep him on the roster for 2024, but they never seemed to seriously engage him in talks for a long-term deal.

Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported in April that Cincinnati's offers "never approached" $20 million annually.

Higgins even acknowledged at the start of training camp that the 2024 season "could be the last ride for me and the guys."

After staying silent about the situation for most of the season, Burrow used his voice to make sure the Bengals knew he wanted Higgins back.

While the reputation of Bengals ownership is often unfavorable when it comes to paying up for star players, this is a roster that has several needs to fill that becomes more difficult to do if you're paying two wide receivers top-of-the-market money.

Of course, the Bengals haven't yet proven they are going to pay one receiver at that level. They were in talks with Chase about a long-term deal throughout the summer, but those discussions reportedly broke down over the payout of guaranteed money.

The price tag for Chase was already high going into 2024, but it's probably gone up after he won the receiving triple crown with 127 catches, 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns.

On top of a potential record-setting deal for Chase, the Bengals also have to fix a defense that finished 25th in points allowed per game. They allowed at least 25 points in 11 of 17 games this season.

The one great defensive player the Bengals have is Trey Hendrickson, who was threatening to retire and requested a trade last offseason because he wanted a new contract. He wound up playing on his current deal then led the NFL with 17.5 sacks this season.

Now, Hendrickson will be going into the final year of his contract with a $15.8 million base salary. That seems like a situation the Bengals will also have to figure out.

It's a champagne problem to have this many great players, but it's only good for the team if they show a willingness to pay at least some of them to keep their nucleus together and improve on the margins.

Those margins are where the Bengals were significantly hurt this season because they didn't do a good job of building around Burrow, Chase, Higgins and Hendrickson. They're entering an offseason when they might lose Higgins in free agency.

Jim Harbaugh's makeover of the Los Angeles Chargers was both swift and successful. Before his hire, the team went 5-12 in the 2023 season, leading to the midseason firing of Brandon Staley.

But this year the Chargers were 11-6 and reached the postseason. While their playoff hopes ended in disappointing fashion on Saturday against the Houston Texans, there's no doubt that Harbaugh has steered the ship in a positive direction.

"They need to build out their defense to be more athletic, and the same is true with the receivers," an NFL executive told The Athletic's Mike Sando. "This season was a testament to Harbaugh's vision, his leadership and the identity he brings to them. They have not had that for a long time. They tasted success and will spend the money. I think they have a clearer path than they had previously."

More good news for the Chargers as they head into the offseason—the team is scheduled to have around $77.9 million in cap space ahead of the 2025 campaign, per Spotrac, the fourth most in the NFL. That could give them the wiggle room to offer a top free agent like wide receiver Tee Higgins a major deal, making Justin Herbert's life easier in the process.

The future appears to be bright under Harbaugh, who has had success at every stop in his coaching career. But an aggressive approach to the offseason would bolster the rebuild.

The Green Bay Packers will reportedly covet wide receiver Tee Higgins in free agency.

Following a 22-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in their Wild Card Round playoff matchup on Sunday, ESPN's Ben Solak mentioned the Packers as a team to "expect" to be "in the Tee Higgins hunt" and could package a receiver such as Romeo Doubs in a trade for a star wideout if the team isn't successful in free agency.

Injuries to Green Bay's wide receiver room hurt the offense during its playoff loss, as Doubs and Jayden Reed both left the game due to a possible concussion and shoulder injury, respectively.

Christian Watson was already ruled out ahead of the contest after suffering a torn ACL in Week 18.

Green Bay's receivers have been consistent, but a true top option for quarterback Jordan Love has yet to emerge. No Packers player reached 900 receiving yards during the regular season despite the team owning the league's No. 12 passing attack.

While Higgins has operated as the No. 2 wideout on the Cincinnati Bengals next to star Ja'Marr Chase, he's shown that he can thrive in an expanded role.

He's surpassed 1,000 yards in two of the first five seasons of his career, with at least five touchdown receptions in every year.

In 12 appearances during his 2024 campaign, Higgins caught 73 passes for 911 yards and a career-high 10 touchdowns.

Green Bay has $51.3 million in cap space to pursue him during the offseason, via Over the Cap.

Following a swift postseason exit, the Packers would immediately give Love an elite weapon if they sign Higgins.