Tee Higgins

The Cincinnati Bengals signed quarterback Joe Burrow to a record-breaking extension Thursday, but they now must turn their attention to another brewing contract situation.

Wide receiver Tee Higgins is also eligible to sign an extension, as his rookie contract expires at the end of the 2023 season.

When asked if Burrow's contract has unlocked any movement on his end, Higgins told reporters Friday that he was not sure if anything had changed.

"I have no clue," Higgins said. "My job is to come in every day and do what I do best—work and catch the ball from No. 9"

Baby also reported that a long-term agreement during the season appears unlikely for Higgins. Higgins owns a $3.9 cap hit in 2023.

Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that it would be "shocking" if the team were to sign him to an extension prior to the team's Week 1 matchup and that the receiver may not be in the team's future plans.

Higgins has eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in the past two seasons and has more than 3,000 yards and 19 touchdowns across his three seasons with the team.

Higgins could receive the franchise tag next spring, but would likely cost the team approximately $19.74 million. This would come as the Bengals would be looking into an extension for wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase and would be feeling the ripple effects of the Burrow extension on the salary cap.

H He acknowledged that his current contract situation isn't ideal and that a holdout would be reasonable but his desire to compete and increase his value is more important to him.

"If I didn't play, I could see why I wouldn't," Higgins said. "But me as a competitor, I want to play the game and also set myself up for the future."

Higgins and the Bengals open the 2023 season on Sunday when they travel across the state to take on the Cleveland Browns.

The 2023 NFL season started Thursday, but the Cincinnati Bengals had more than just this year in mind.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Bengals and quarterback Joe Burrow agreed to a contract extension for five years and $275 million. The deal features $219.01 million in guarantees and makes him the highest-paid player in league history.

Burrow's existing contract was set to expire after the 2024 campaign, so this is a move that will impact the salary cap down the line and secures the long-term future of the franchise quarterback.

Over The Cap lists the Bengals with $180.3 million in team cap space in 2025 and $262.7 million in team cap space for 2026. The quarterback's extension will clearly eat into that, as will roster moves that will be made multiple years from now.

Spotrac weighed in on the deal:

The biggest question is what the impact will be on the top wide receivers.

Tee Higgins is signed through 2023, while Ja'Marr Chase is under contract through 2024.

Chase in particular figures to command quite a contract, as he is one of the best wide receivers in the league. By average annual salary, Tyreek Hill ($30 million), Davante Adams ($28 million) and Cooper Kupp ($26.7 million) are the highest-paid players at the position, and the LSU product will surely want to be included in that conversation with any new deal.

Higgins won't be in that category, but he will also command a major deal considering he is 24 years old and coming off back-to-back seasons with more than 1,000 receiving yards. He certainly benefits from the defensive attention that Chase commands, but he is a key part of the Bengals' offensive attack.

And they seem to know that.

Schefter reported that "Burrow is the first of three core offensive extensions that the Bengals have prioritized" with Chase and Higgins as the other ones.

That means Cincinnati is going to be using plenty of its available salary cap space on its star offensive players. That is the way it should be, as this is a team in the middle of a Super Bowl window with its star 26-year-old quarterback locked up for years to come.

The Burrow deal isn't going to prevent the Bengals from signing his top two targets.

The Cincinnati Bengals and wide receiver Tee Higgins are reportedly not expected to have a long-term contract in place "anytime soon."

Dan Graziano of ESPN reported the two sides are seemingly in a holding pattern as Higgins waits for new contracts for Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb to set the market. Higgins is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2023 season.

"Y'all know me," Higgins told reporters in July. "I just want to get my work in and contribute to the team any way I can, so whenever that happens, that's God's timing."

The Bengals are also negotiating a long-term deal with Joe Burrow and have Ja'Marr Chase due for an extension next offseason, which complicates matters. While Higgins has compiled two straight 1,000-yard seasons, he's a non-Pro Bowler and the most expendable of Cincinnati's Big Three on offense.

Given the glut of high-caliber receivers across the NFL, the Bengals will have to calculate how much they're willing to spend to keep Burrow, Chase and Higgins together. With Higgins assuredly looking to press into the $25 million range, Chase likely pushing $30 million next offseason and Burrow averaging well over $50 million on his next contract, that's an awful lot of cap space tied up in three players.

The Bengals will be able to pull some cap wizardry to make sure the yearly cap numbers are well below the average annual value of the contracts, but sacrifices will have to be made elsewhere on the roster to ensure Burrow has his top two pass catchers moving forward.

One potential avenue for Cincinnati would be to use the franchise tag on Higgins next offseason with the idea of trading him, but that's an unlikely scenario. If the Bengals were planning on considering moving on from Higgins, they would have done so this offseason while his value was high with his cap hold still being low.

The Cincinnati Bengals face the daunting task of keeping their offensive core together with star quarterback Joe Burrow and wideout Tee Higgins eligible for contract extensions this year.

However, head coach Zac Taylor told The Athletic's Jeff Howe that he's confident all sides will eventually reach their desired outcome.

"There's always a team side of this, and there's a business side of this," Taylor said. "You trust people are handling it the right way."

In addition to Burrow and Higgins, star receiver Ja'Marr Chase will be eligible for an extension next offseason. Taylor went on to add that he tries to keep his involvement in contract discussions to a minimum:

"Fortunately, the business side is out of my hands, so I get a chance just to try to push this team in every way I can. If guys need to have one-off conversations about it, we're always open to provide guidance as best we can. Try not to stick your nose in the middle of it, because I get it. It's a livelihood for these guys. Just finding the right balance to coach the team and keep the team moving."

For what it's worth, Taylor isn't alone in his belief that the Bengals will maintain their core players. Burrow said during an appearance on NFL Live last week that he's "confident" that the team will "be able to keep everybody."

It will be interesting to see if any new deals are in place for Cincinnati's offensive stars when the team opens the 2023 season against the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 10.

This is not the start to the 2023 season the Cincinnati Bengals were hoping for.

Star quarterback Joe Burrow left the field on a cart after suffering a non-contact calf injury during training camp Thursday.

According to ESPN's Dianna Russini, Burrow was diagnosed with a strained calf. A timetable for recovery remains unclear, but a source told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler a strain is the "100% best-case scenario."

Head coach Zac Taylor confirmed after practice Burrow was dealing with a calf issue.

Wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase told reporters indications from Burrow were that the quarterback was doing well.

"We always give each other that nod," he said. "He gave me a nod he's all right. He's a strong dude."

Any injury to the 26-year-old is going to be a major point of stress in Cincinnati.

In his rookie season in 2020, Burrow looked the part of the No. 1 overall pick, throwing for 2,688 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 65.3 percent of his passes across 10 starts. That didn't translate to many wins—the Bengals were just 2-7-1 in his starts—but it was clear he had game.

All of that came to an end when he tore his ACL and MCL in November of his rookie year. But Burrow didn't miss a beat in his sophomore campaign, throwing for 4,611 yards, 34 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while completing a league-high 70.4 percent of his passes and leading the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance.

While the team ultimately lost that contest to the Los Angeles Rams, the Bengals had themselves a star—and a potential future MVP, too.

More injury concerns came up ahead of the 2022 season, when it was revealed that Burrow sprained his MCL in that Super Bowl loss, though it didn't require surgery. He also underwent an appendectomy in late July.

In 2022, he continued his ascent, throwing for 4,475 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 68.3 percent of his passes.

With the LSU product under center, the Bengals are a legitimate contender, as he leads one of the most dangerous offenses in the NFL. Running back Joe Mixon and wideouts Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd have given him a loaded suite of weapons to work with going forward.

If the signal-caller misses significant time due to this latest injury, though, those championship aspirations may be on ice. Trevor Siemian will take over as the team's quarterback while he is sidelined.

Siemien would be a major downgrade from Burrow, but Burrow isn't the type of player who can simply be replaced anyway.