Are the Bengals playing tag with Higgins for a second straight year?
It appears the Cincinnati Bengals have reached a decision on potentially using the NFL franchise tag on Tee Higgins.
On Tuesday, the franchise tag window officially opens and runs until March 4th. That gives the Bengals time to work out an extension with Higgins before that deadline comes, but it appears they’ve already decided to tag Higgins.
This, according to James Rapien. It’s the non-exclusive tag the Bengals plan to use on Higgins. Rapien adds that Higgins’ camp expects the tag to be used on him.
The non-exclusive tag is set to be worth about $26 million, so Higgins will be getting a nice payday even if a long-term deal is not reached. However, the expectation is both sides will continue to work on getting a long-term extension. The deadline to get one done will be on July 15th.
This specific tag means Higgins could negotiate with other teams once free agency begins on March 10th, and the Bengals would have five days to match any offers and retain Higgins. But if the Bengals chose not to match the offer, the team that signs Higgins would owe the Bengals two first-round picks.
In other words, Higgins is almost certain to remain a Bengals in 2025 if the tag is used unless they’re willing to trade him for a smaller package. I’d still wager they’ll want at least a late first-round NFL Draft pick for him, but they may be willing to settle for an early second-round pick.
We shall see.
