Tee Higgins

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.

Wide receiver Tee Higgins doesn't intend to negotiate a long-term extension with the Cincinnati Bengals in the middle of the 2023 NFL season, according to The Athletic's Dianna Russini and Paul Dehner Jr.

Higgins is in the final year of his rookie contract and is due to hit free agency in 2024.

Russini and Dehner reported the Bengals extended an offer to the fourth-year wideout, but it was considered "low" by the player.

Thanks to ownership, the Bengals have a longstanding reputation for being cheap. However, failing to retain Higgins would be a bigger reflection of the difficulty of working within the NFL's salary cap.

The Bengals did everything right when they selected Higgins and Joe Burrow in the 2020 draft and followed up with Ja'Marr Chase the following year. The downside is that keeping all three will be very costly.

Burrow is fresh off receiving the biggest contract in NFL history (five years and $275 million with $219 guaranteed). The front office now has to decide whether it can keep both Higgins and Chase while having enough flexibility to maintain a roster good enough to keep chasing an AFC title.

Spotrac pegs Higgins' market value at $22.6 million annually, with Chase coming in at $24.9 million. Those salaries would rank ninth and fifth among receivers, respectively. For added context, the Seattle Seahawks have the third-highest AAV at wideout, and their combined spending ($46.6 million) is less than Higgins and Chase's market values put together.

The Kansas City Chiefs faced a similar dilemma to the Bengals, and they decided giving Tyreek Hill a market-level extension simply wasn't worth it. The Tennessee Titans reached the same conclusion with A.J. Brown. Kansas City wound up winning last year's Super Bowl, while Tennessee watched Brown play a key role for the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles.

On that spectrum, the Bengals might be closer to the Chiefs. Because without Higgins, they could still lean on Burrow and Chase to anchor the passing game.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins will enter Week 1 without a contract extension.

Higgins and the Bengals were unable to come to an agreement ahead of Sunday's season opener against the Cleveland Browns and the veteran "will look to lock up a long-term contract next offseason," per NFL insider Jordan Schultz.

Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Friday that Higgins and the Bengals "are not close and never got close on a contract extension." She added that the two sides agreeing to a deal would be "shocking," adding that the wideout "is not believed to be in the Bengals' future plans."

Higgins has been a staple in the Cincinnati offense since being selected in the second round of the 2020 draft out of Clemson.

The 24-year-old posted back-to-back 1,000-plus yard receiving seasons in 2021 and 2022 after a 2020 rookie campaign that saw him catch 67 passes for 908 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games.

In 16 games last season, Higgins caught 74 passes for 1,029 yards and seven touchdowns. Ja'Marr Chase was the only Bengal to have more yards with 1,046 yards and nine touchdowns in 12 games.

While Higgins has been highly effective in Cincinnati, it's no surprise the Bengals may not be interested in keeping him around long term.

The franchise just signed star quarterback Joe Burrow to an NFL-record five-year, $275 million extension and will also have to sign Chase, who has emerged as the team's No. 1 receiver, to a major extension in the near future.

Higgins should still remain a significant piece of the Cincinnati offense this year as the Bengals look to get back to the Super Bowl after falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game last season.

If Higgins posts another 1,000-plus yard receiving season, he'll be among the top wide receivers available on the free agent market next offseason.

Tee Higgins' long-term future with the Cincinnati Bengals is in jeopardy.

Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that the receiver and the team "are not close and never got close on a contract extension." She also reported that a deal getting done would be "shocking" and that the receiver is not believed to be in the team's future plans.

Higgins was a second-round pick in 2020 and has eclipsed 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons.

This production, combined with his youth and familiarity with quarterback Joe Burrow would make it seem foolish to not at least entertain an extension in a normal circumstance. However, with Ja'Marr Chase being the clear No. 1 receiver on the team and due for an extension soon, it renders Higgins more of a luxury.

Plus, Burrow's extension will command a significant portion of the salary cap going forward so developing cheaper receivers alongside Chase may be the better move for the Bengals. Higgins expressed to reporters that he had "no clue" if Burrow's extension impacted his negotiations and said that his only focus was producing alongside Burrow.

He also noted that a holdout for someone in his position would be reasonable but his desire to compete and showcase his skills outweighs any desire to do that.

At the very least, Higgins will be a key contributor for a Bengals team with serious Super Bowl aspirations. The journey will start Sunday when the Bengals travel cross-state to take on the Cleveland Browns.