Tag: Bengals franchise tag

Tee Higgins is last tagged star without an extension

Tee Higgins is the last tagged star without a deal.

The contract standoff between the Cincinnati Bengals and star wide receiver Tee Higgins is now the proverbial last man standing this offseason.

Monday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and franchise-tagged star defender Antoine Winfield Jr. agreed to a massive four-year extension.

That leaves Higgins as the only franchise or transitional-tagged player left. It also puts the spotlight solely on the Bengals and Higgins at the July 15 deadline for an extension to happen. Otherwise, he’ll play the 2024 season on the tag.

Notably, that deal for Winfield was orchestrated by agent David Mulugheta, who also reps Higgins (and reps star safety Jessie Bates).

Trey Hendrickson, the other star Bengals player to request a trade this offseason, was at activities on Monday. Higgins has yet to sign the tag, with the time around that July 15 deadline the real important point of this saga.

Joe Burrow recently talked about the situations around Hendrickson and Higgins.

Here’s a look at all of the results for tagged players so far:

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Bengals didn’t get Tee Higgins trade calls after franchise tag, per report

A report reveals that no teams have called the Bengals about trading for Tee Higgins.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins has requested a trade, though no other teams have previously approached the Bengals about a deal.

According to a report from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, zero teams called the Bengals about a deal after the team applied the franchise tag to the star wideout.

Florio wrote the following: “Per a source with knowledge of the situation, that hadn’t happened before today. The Bengals hadn’t even gotten a call about a potential trade.”

The Bengals talked differently about Higgins’ future with the team at the combine than they have in the past, though Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin shot down the idea that the quick timing of the franchise tag had anything to do with wanting to trade him.

Perhaps part of the reason no team approached the Bengals is their reputation as stubborn in trade talks. But part of it is undoubtedly the asking price, too, as the Bengals figure to want roughly a first-round pick in exchange if they’re willing to deal Higgins — the trading team would have to cough up that and a potentially market-resetting extension.

As always mentioned, the Bengals and Higgins have until July 15 to reach a long-term extension, or he’ll play on the tag next season, barring a shocking trade development.

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Bengals get Tee Higgins extension blueprint from Bears, Jaylon Johnson

The Bears just extended a franchise-tagged player and the Bengals should follow suit with Tee Higgins.

One of the interesting things we and others have suggested about the mini-standoff between the Cincinnati Bengals and Tee Higgins is that signing him to an extension could help the team’s cap situation.

With some creative structuring, reaching a long-term extension with Higgins could actually lower his 2024 cap hit, giving the team more cash to spend elsewhere.

The Chicago Bears just put this into action with cornerback Jaylon Johnson, providing a great example.

On the tag, Johnson was set to account for a $19.8 million cap hit. But he and the Bears just agreed on a four-year deal that only averages $19 million per season and has a $13.425 million cap hit in 2024.

This is possible because he’ll earn $28 million overall in 2024, including signing bonuses, then another $16 million in 2025, fully guaranteed.

Here’s the kicker — the total cash over the first two years of that extension is slightly more than the number had the Bears used the franchise tag on him two offseasons in a row.

So, back to Higgins. The idea of a second franchise tag in 2025 has certainly come up in conversations with the wideout’s reps. Technically, with the increasing cap, the Bengals could afford the costlier second tag. So it might behoove Higgins and Co. to agree on something similar that gives everyone what they want — at least two years of big money and avoiding a double-tag. Higgins and other star wideouts, Ja’Marr Chase included, don’t like much longer than three-year deals right now anyway because of the rising cap, so a three-year pact would make sense.

As always with the Bengals, guaranteeing money after the first year of the contract is a big hurdle here. But doing so with Higgins would end the standoff and extend a branch of sorts that might make further extensions with him possible.

And while some might fret about having enough money to pay Chase and the rest of the roster, too, there are creative ways around this issue, such as inevitable-feeling restructures to Joe Burrow’s contract, etc. Front-loading a Higgins deal now can work.

Keeping Burrow-Higgins-Chase was always going to be a task that required the Bengals front office to wiggle free of its conservative shell a bit with contracts. The Bears just put into action one of the suggested plans, a possible blueprint to ending the drama with Higgins before the July 15 deadline to reach an extension.

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What Mike Evans deal could mean for Tee Higgins, Bengals

A big-money deal for Mike Evans could impact the Bengals and Tee Higgins.

One of the first big dominoes of the free agent market that could have an impact on the Cincinnati Bengals fell to start the week.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and wideout Mike Evans agreed on a big two-year extension worth $52 million, including $35 million guaranteed.

That’s notable for the Bengals in a few ways. For one, that guaranteed sum over just two years might give a basis for a similar structure for the Bengals and WR Tee Higgins — provided the front office is willing to break free of its general rule about guarantees after the first year.

But an Evans-type deal stretched to the three- or four-year mark might work. Players want shorter deals now than in the past because the cap keeps jumping so dramatically. Then again, the Bengals could balk at the per-year number, too, while still needing to pay up for WR Ja’Marr Chase.

And two, there’s this list of teams that were banking on Evans being one of the top guys available:

With a No. 1 off the board, there are fewer players of that caliber available this offseason. Higgins is one, provided the trading team in need is willing to cough up big draft assets and sign him to a massive extension.

That doesn’t mean the Bengals will agree to any trade, but it does seem to increase the chances that teams at least pick up the phone and call Cincinnati.

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Bengals WR Tee Higgins appears to react to franchise tag news

Tee Higgins seems to quickly address the news he’s being franchise tagged by the Bengals.

Cincinnati Bengals wideout Tee Higgins sent out a brief message in the wake of the news he’s going to be franchise-tagged by the team.

The message was short and sweet: “It is what it is.”

Granted, one could argue the tweet could be about anything, but Higgins sent it out roughly 10 minutes after the news went public — and fans will read it as a reaction regardless.

That tag checks in at $21.8 million and sets a new deadline — July 15. That’s the new day to circle on the calendar, as it’s the cutoff for the Bengals and Higgins to agree on a long-term extension.

Of course, the Bengals tagging Higgins so early in the process makes it worth wondering about tag-and-trade scenarios before the combine.

For now, though, we’ve got Higgins’ apparent reaction and a Bengals cap space update.

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Bengals cap space update after Tee Higgins’ franchise tag

A cap space update for the Bengals after franchise tagging Tee Higgins.

The Cincinnati Bengals project to have more than $50 million in free cap space even after applying the franchise tag to wide receiver Tee Higgins.

Word went out Friday night that the Bengals have informed Higgins that they will apply the $21.8 million tag, making him the second-highest cap hit on the team in 2024 behind Joe Burrow ($29.7 million).

That chunk of change might have hurt the Bengals more were it not for the news that came down earlier in the day that same Friday — the NFL revealed the 2024 salary cap number as much higher than anticipated, leaving the Bengals as big winners.

As of now, with the cap adjusted to $255.4 million and accounting for the Higgins cap hit and $10.7 million in rollover money from last year, Spotrac still has the Bengals at $52,463,511 in free cap space.

That’s a massive number the team will stretch to sign a draft class, retain other key free agents (Jonah Williams, Tyler Boyd, DJ Reader, etc.), sign outside free agents and otherwise after spending massive money the last few offseasons around Joe Burrow.

Don’t count out the Tee Higgins situation, either. The team has until July 15 to reach an extension with him now and the early tag could mean they will consider a trade, which would remove the cap hit from the books.

But for now, the Higgins tag was never going to hurt a team with a top-10 cap number. That’s even more so the case after the massive $30ish million spike to the salary cap.

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Can early franchise tag mean a Tee Higgins trade is coming?

Are the Bengals opening the door for a Tee Higgins tag-and-trade?

The Cincinnati Bengals have informed wideout Tee Higgins that he will receive the franchise tag.

That news came somewhat earlier than expected. The Bengals had until March 5 to apply the tag, and conventional wisdom seemed to suggest there wasn’t a reason for them to rush applying it.

That is, unless something happened during negotiations on a contract extension that we aren’t privy to, or the front office wants to tell teams that they’re open for business.

It’s pretty hard to imagine the Bengals would steer away from their conservative nature and not fully use that additional year of control to keep Higgins with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase for another championship push.

But the early tag does finalize things. It leaves other teams no doubt about where things are headed — and it just so happens to arrive well before the scouting combine next week, where Bengals brass will attend and brush shoulders with the front offices of 31 other teams.

The mechanics of a tag-and-trade are complicated but boil down to this: Other teams can make offers and the Bengals can accept. But only if he’s actually signed the tag, which he doesn’t have to, especially if he doesn’t like the trade destination. If he does sign, the $21.8 million comes out of their cap space right away, which impacts free agency.

Tag-and-trades are extremely rare, with Davante Adams fetching the Packers one first-round pick and a second-rounder from the Raiders as a recent example. But Higgins isn’t going to net the Bengals that sort of return after struggling to stay healthy and with a very strong draft class coming up.

That doesn’t mean a tag-and-trade won’t happen, especially with the timing here so interesting. Now that the Bengals have made clear their intention, both sides have until July 15 to reach an extension.

So, while a trade can happen, the early tag shouldn’t knock fans off the expectation that Higgins will be back in Cincinnati for at least one more year. It still very much feels like the situation with Jessie Bates III and even involves the same agent. Joe Burrow wants Higgins back, and it’s smart business to use the tag while keeping the contention window open, provided a offer too good to refuse doesn’t hit Cincinnati’s desk at the combine.

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What it would cost for Bengals to use franchise tag

How much will a franchise tag cost the Bengals?

The NFL’s window for teams to use their franchise tag is now officially open, and the Cincinnati Bengals are one of the teams that seem likely to use theirs.

They have until March 5 to apply a tag, which would extend the timeframe in which they could negotiate an extension with that player if that’s the route the Bengals wanted to take.

It has been reported that the Bengals are likely to use their franchise tag on wide receiver Tee Higgins, which Bleacher Report estimates would take around $21.7 million to secure Higgins for another year.

That would likely be around what Higgins would be worth in free agency for one year, but if the Bengals were able to work out an extension with him in that timeframe the contract could also be structured in a way that would still give them more cap space next year.

Jonah Williams is another big free agent leaving the Bengals, and they do have the option of tagging him, but as a right tackle, the $21.7 million it would cost to do so would be over the market value for someone on the outside of the right side of the line. Williams could be looking to test free agency as a left tackle since they normally earn more, and he has played there most of his career.

Here’s what Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report estimates what a franchise tag at each position would cost:

QB: $36 million

RB: $12.4 million

WR: $21.7 million

TE: $12.4 million

OL: $21.7 million

DE: $23.3 million

DT: $19.8 million

LB: $21.9 million

CB: $18.4 million

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Expert wonders if Bengals WR Tee Higgins is tag-to-trade candidate

Is Tee Higgins a realistic candidate to get franchise tagged and traded?

The Cincinnati Bengals can apply the franchise tag to star wideout Tee Higgins starting Tuesday when the window to do so opens leaguewide.

That Higgins gets a tag seems like a foregone conclusion, though the Bengals don’t figure to make the move happen right away.

When they do, though, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer expects Higgins to be one of two realistic possible tag-and-trade scenarios:

Of those, I’d say Higgins and Burns could be tag-to-trade candidates. In Burns’s case, it’s because he and the Panthers haven’t been close on a long-term agreement over the last couple years. In Higgins’s case, it’s because the Bengals have a bigger deal for Ja’Marr Chase on the horizon.

History and the mechanics of a tag and trade say otherwise, though.

There are fewer than 10 examples of a tag and trade since 2018 and even if the Bengals were to find a trade partner willing to cough up multiple draft picks (including possibly a late first-rounder), Higgins wouldn’t have to sign the tag if he doesn’t like the destination or extension that team will do.

The $20.7 million tag has always been a way for the Bengals to extend the contention window one more year. They’ve got plenty of cap space, Joe Burrow’s extension number doesn’t escalate until 2025 and it is structured in a way (through the ability to do future re-structures) that the Bengals could pay Ja’Marr Chase and Higgins at the same time.

Unless another desperate team comes through with a jaw-dropping offer, the Bengals have until March 5 to apply the tag, then July 15 to reach an extension.

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Cincinnati Bengals’ history with franchise tag

A look at every time the Bengals have used the franchise tag.

The Cincinnati Bengals have flexed the franchise tag over the years in a number of interesting ways.

In some cases, the Bengals have used the tag on…a kicker. In more notable, recent cases, the front office has used the extra year of control to keep one of the best overall safeties and defenders in the NFL.

And the 2024 offseason has always seemed earmarked for a franchise tag going on star wideout Tee Higgins. If nothing else, it will give the team into the summer to keep talking with his reps about an extension and preventing his departure via free agency.

With that obvious outcome looming soon enough, here’s a quick look at every time the Bengals have ever used the franchise tag.