National analyst is right on the money regarding Bengals' important decision
Tag, or sign? That's the potentially $100 million question for Cincinnati Bengals when it comes to star wide receiver Tee Higgins. It's a conundrum that they'll have to sort out very soon. Entering the last year of his rookie contract, Higgins has already established himself as one of the better receivers in the league at […]
Tag, or sign? That's the potentially $100 million question for Cincinnati Bengals when it comes to star wide receiver Tee Higgins. It's a conundrum that they'll have to sort out very soon.
Entering the last year of his rookie contract, Higgins has already established himself as one of the better receivers in the league at just 24 years of age. He's precisely the kind of player who gets paid near the top for his position, and his position is precisely the kind that gets prioritized by the Bengals.
Do not let past perception fool you; Cincinnati pays its elite receivers. Chad Johnson and A.J. Green can both attest.
Nothing about who Higgins is will give the Bengals pause about extending him to a massive second contract. Any conflict would have to do with getting him on the books along with quarterback Joe Burrow, and fellow receiver Ja'Marr Chase. Those two are a packaged deal, one that isn't leaving the Queen City any time soon.
So what do the Bengals do? Extend Higgins along with Burrow and Chase and worry about the rest of the team later, or play tag with the 6'4" jump ball machine and save some dough in the process?
In a recent episode of The Athletic Football Show, host Robert Mays explained why paying Higgins is indeed the right decision.
"I would just extend him," Mays said of Higgins. "They're gonna have plenty of cap space. Maybe it's a cash issue. If you're giving out the Burrow extension this offseason, you don't want to give him a huge deal at the same offseason you're potentially going to pay burrow, but they have a lot of financial flexibility to do it right now. If they move on from Joe Mixon in the next year, which I assume that they will, they'd have $70 million in cap space. I know it's more than just a next year consideration, but I think that they have so many potential cheap incoming players on defense."
Mays gets it. For starters, it's always a cash issue. Cap space is never an obstacle when it comes to retaining players you need. Money can always be moved around from an accounting perspective.
Having enough liquid cash on hand to pay the guaranteed portions of mega deals, however, has been an obstacle of the Bengals' for years, or simply one the franchise just didn't try to move past. Recent efforts to become more liquid in the form of added sponsorships have not been made in jest.
Getting the cash is one thing, figuring out what to do with it is another. The Bengals have clearly shown the willingness to go young and cheap on defense to prepare for Burrow, Chase, and Higgins taking up a vast majority of available cap space. And replacing the team's No. 3 receiver with an in-house successor will also make it easier to build around that trio.
"Tyler Boyd is going to be gone, hopefully have a ready made replacement for Tyler Boyd with the guy that you drafted this year," Mays said. "So even if you have two expensive receivers, an expensive left tackle, and an expensive quarterback if you save in other areas of your roster. I have no issues with just giving him the extension he deserves."
The Bengals have indeed been planning for this ever since their 2021 run to the Super Bowl. All three players are too good for the Bengals to break them up in their prime, and they've already made sacrifices elsewhere on the roster. Mays will be proven right in time should negotiations with Burrow and Higgins end up successful this Summer.
Tee Higgins clears the air regarding contract rumors
The fourth-year receiver is entering a contract year.
Featured image via © Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
