Tee Higgins keeps his promise to Bengals fans as Cincinnati uses its final piece of leverage to reach a new contract
For the second straight year, the franchise tag has been placed on Tee Higgins.The Cincinnati Bengals are placing the $26.2 million tender on the 26-year old wide receiver, as first reported by none other than Higgins himself. NFL Media's Ian Rapoport confirmed the tag is being processed this afternoon. Cincinnati had until Tuesday, March 4 […]
For the second straight year, the franchise tag has been placed on Tee Higgins.
The Cincinnati Bengals are placing the $26.2 million tender on the 26-year old wide receiver, as first reported by none other than Higgins himself. NFL Media's Ian Rapoport confirmed the tag is being processed this afternoon.
Cincinnati had until Tuesday, March 4 at 4:00 p.m. ET to place the tag on Higgins, so doing so a day earlier goes slightly against what our expectations were. What did come to be exactly correct was the way the news broke. Higgins let the world know last month he'd be the first to let everyone know what was going to happen to him. He was right.
As mentioned above, Higgins was tagged last year for $21.8 million, but the Bengals did so without pursuing negotiations for a long-term contract. This time, the tag has been used again to do just that.
Bengals can now fully accelerate talks with Higgins on long-term deal
Tagging Higgins a second time will prevent the former second-round pick from reaching free agency. His leverage against the Bengals has basically been wiped out as he can't negotiate with other teams. If he wants a long-term contract, he'll only be able to talk to the Bengals.
It's not an ideal process, but it is a common one. The Kansas City Chiefs did the same thing with Trey Smith late last week. Five of the eight players who received the franchise tag last year were able to secure new contracts with their original clubs. Two others were traded. The lone exception was Higgins.
But again, that is not the expected result this time around, and trading him is not in the cards.
The worst-kept secret in Cincinnati is the front office's intent on signing Higgins to a long-term deal. Director of player personnel Duke Tobin exuded optimism last week towards the team finally crossing the goal line after originally starting talks two years ago.
Willingness absolutely exists on that side of the table, and Higgins showcased his intent on restarting talks when he switched agents late last season. Staying together is his desire, now it's about finding the right number.
In a perfect world, this gets done within the next week before money starts flying in free agency. Until then, Higgins will put a $26.2 million dent in the team's salary cap sheet with a plethora of moves to make.
Things are about to get interesting.
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