It looks like the Tennessee Titans found their new head coach in Brian Callahan and now, it's about his next moves as he begins to build out his staff and roster for the 2024 season and beyond.

Could one of those moves come in the form of acquiring veteran wideout, Tee Higgins?

It makes sense on the surface: Higgins has played under Callahan his entire career and the former Bengals offensive coordinator should install a system much like the one he helped run in Cincinnati. 

Therefore, Higgins would be a natural fit if he were to come to Nashville. And, he'd play alongside DeAndre Hopkins, who is fresh off a 1,000-yard season. 

But, surface-level logic is a disservice in this hypothetical. Context needs to be added and more details need to be examined.

So, without further ado, let's see where the Titans stand in terms of potentially landing Higgins.

Do the Titans have the cap space?

Yes, yes they do.

The Titans currently have a tick under $69.8 million in cap space, per Over The Cap. The team has nearly $63.7 million in effective cap space, which is the total after accounting for the projected cost of the 2024 draft class. There are 55 players on the roster when accounting for Ryan Tannehill's and Derrick Henry's void year, as well.

Outside of Derrick Henry and Denico Autry, the Titans also don't have any high-priced impending free agents they need to re-sign.

In other words: The Titans are in excellent shape to add whomever they want during the offseason. 

How much could Higgins potentially cost?

A to Z Sports cap experts, Josh Queipo and Kyle DeDiminicantanio recently projected the type of contract Higgins could command in free agency:

Higgins has been an alpha receiver buried behind another alpha receiver as a part of one of the best and deepest receiver rooms in the NFL. As the Robin to J’Marr Chase’s Batman, Higgins has still shown an ability to be a primary “X” receiver at times over the course of his first four years in the league. He notched 261 targets, 179 catches, 2,577 yards and 16 touchdowns while averaging just under 2.00 yards per route run from 2021-2022. At 6-foot-4 and 219-pounds, Higgins has prototypical size to complement good speed and can line up both inside and outside.

Outside of Evans, Higgins will be the most sought-after receiving option on the market for wide receiver-needy teams. And with the recent explosion in the valuation of the receiver market he will be able to lock in a contract well ahead of other recent “Robin’s” like Chris Godwin and Mike Williams.

Franchise Tag Likelihood: Low
3 yrs $70.5M, $23.5M APY, $45M Fully GTD
Year One Cap Hit: $7.5 million

As you can see, Higgins' Year One cap hit can be modified to where it barely even takes a chunk out of the Titans' 2024 cap space. Now, that likely means two void years are added if it ends up a three-year deal and the cap hit in Year 2 and 3 will balloon to some significant numbers, but at the same time, the salary cap continues to increase and teams can rollover unspent cash to help offset the rising costs. 

The key, here, is Higgins just turned 25. So, if he were to sign a three-year deal with two void years, he'd be up for a new deal at 28 – when he's still in his prime. Meaning, it's likely Tennessee would sign him to a new deal, thus pushing the void years back, even further. An extension would also help the aforementioned rising years, too.

Higgins might not hit the market, though

There's always the chance Cincinnati hits Higgins with the franchise tag in order to keep him off the market and also keep negotiations alive until the mid-July deadline. 

If the Bengals franchise him, it's projected to cost $21.665 million in 2024 and that's money that comes straight off the top of the pile. Right now, the Bengals have a little more than $59.4 million in projected cap space, so the franchise tag would hypothetically take them down to around $37.735 million. 

It can be done – it just all depends on how the Bengals want to go about business.

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Ultimately, it depends on whether or not the Bengals use the franchise tag in hopes of working out a long-term deal. If that doesn't happen and the two parties also can't come together on a deal, I think it's safe to assume Higgins will be a Titan in 2024.