NFL insider doesn't sound optimistic about Bengals keeping key free agent this offseason
ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler doesn't sound optimistic about the Cincinnati Bengals re-signing a key free agent this offseason. On Wednesday, Fowler wrote about what he's hearing when it comes to Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, a free agent after the 2023 season, and he doesn't sound confident that Cincinnati will re-sign the talented wide […]
ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler doesn't sound optimistic about the Cincinnati Bengals re-signing a key free agent this offseason.
On Wednesday, Fowler wrote about what he's hearing when it comes to Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, a free agent after the 2023 season, and he doesn't sound confident that Cincinnati will re-sign the talented wide receiver.
The ESPN insider wrote that Higgins will be hard for the Bengals to keep.
From ESPN: Largely considered a No. 1-caliber receiver, Higgins will be hard for Cincinnati to keep. The franchise tag is $22.9 million, and the Bengals also need to pay Chase eventually. Higgins had significant trade interest at the deadline. He's exactly what a team like Carolina needs — a bonafide vertical threat with size. Should he get to free agency, Higgins is probably the best wide receiver on the open market since Amari Cooper in 2020.
Cincinnati will almost certainly give wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase an extension this offseason. And with Higgins likely looking for WR1 money, it seems unlikely that he would sign an extension instead of hitting the open market (where his value will only increase). The Bengals can and should find a way to bring Higgins back — we've seen how important it is to have multiple elite options at wide receiver. But it won't be easy.
Wide receiver Tyler Boyd is also set to hit free agency this offseason, though he's a player that Cincinnati could attempt to replace through the draft.
Right tackle Jonah Williams is also set to be a free agent after the 2023 season. Fowler thinks Williams will likely command an average annual salary in the "double-digit range" (at least north of $10 million, but not likely more than $17 million).
It sounds like it's going to be an extremely busy (and important) offseason for the Bengals.
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