In reaching a record-shattering Joe Burrow extension, the Bengals finally completed their top contractual goal for 2023. They also extended Logan Wilson, reaching team-friendly terms with their top linebacker. Tee Higgins, however, remains unsigned. And the team’s No. 2 wide receiver looks set to enter a contract year.
The Bengals are not close on an extension with Higgins, Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports, adding the sides have never gotten especially close on terms. Not much movement has occurred in recent weeks, per ESPN.com’s Ben Baby. Higgins is expected to remain a core piece for the Bengals this season, but his future is uncertain.
Burrow’s extension — a $55MM-per-year accord that creates distance between himself and the field — will complicate matters for Cincinnati, which used the star QB’s rookie contract to load up their roster. That said, the cap numbers for the quarterback’s landmark re-up are not yet known. It is possible the Bengals could maneuver their way to carving out room for a Higgins franchise tag.
This year’s round of QB re-ups have included lower cap hits in the first two years. Justin Herbert‘s first two years go $8.5MM and $19.3MM, while Lamar Jackson‘s sit at $22.15MM and $32.4MM. Jalen Hurts: $6.2MM, $13.6MM. Though, the Ravens and Eagles used void years for cap purposes from the start. The Bengals operate in a more traditional fashion, which could make them reluctant to include the increasingly popular space-creating mechanism this early in Burrow’s deal. But Burrow’s 2024 cap hit will be pertinent regarding the prospect of a Higgins franchise tag.
A 2024 Higgins tag will run the Bengals more than $20MM, and while Ja’Marr Chase is a clear-cut candidate to become the NFL’s highest-paid receiver in the not-too-distant future, the star wideout can be kept on his rookie deal through 2025 (via the fifth-year option). While the Vikings are working on a deal with Justin Jefferson, no team has signed a first-round wide receiver with two years of control remaining on his rookie contract in the fifth-year option era (2014-present). With Chase attached to a $9.8MM cap hit in 2024, a lower Burrow cap hit opens the door to the Bengals keeping their Chase-Higgins setup going for at least one more year. But that is not a lock, Conway adds, writing a Higgins tag would be unlikely.
That said, Bengals VP of player personnel Duke Tobin emphatically shut down Higgins trade inquiries at the Combine. It would seem the Bengals will have a tough time parting with their ascending WR2 next year, though a tag-and-trade scenario would also be an option. If Higgins reaches free agency, he would become one of the most coveted options available. While we are a ways away from knowing which receivers will hit the market, Higgins and Mike Evans — whom the Bucs are not planning to extend — would mark a considerable improvement from this year’s class. Tyler Boyd, who is almost certain to play out his Bengals deal and hit free agency in 2024, will likely fare decently as a first-time UFA as well.
“I have no clue,” Higgins said (via Baby) about his extension status. “My job is to come in every day and do what I do best — work and catch the ball from No. 9.”
Higgins said he has work to do and looks forward to bolstering his resume, which he added is “not as good as the greats,” via the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Charlie Goldsmith. The former second-round pick sits as one of the NFL’s top No. 2 options, topping 900 receiving yards in each of his three seasons and eclipsing 1,000 in 2021 and ’22.
