Bengals’ Tee Higgins signs franchise tag to end contract drama

NFL

By Jared Schwartz

Tee Higgins gave in.

The Bengals’ star receiver is signing his franchise tag, according to ESPN, and is expected to report for the start of training camp.

He had missed all three days of the team’s mandatory minicamp, in addition to the entire voluntary portion of offseason workouts, while he had not yet signed the tag.

Higgins, 25, had been seeking a long-term deal, and signing the tag does not prohibit the two sides from continuing, until July 15, to negotiate for a new contract.

But it’s “unlikely” that the two sides will come to an agreement, according to the report.

Still, his holdout should now be over.

“Tee and I are always talking,” quarterback Joe Burrow told reporters earlier in the week. “I’ve seen Tee several times this offseason. He looks great. Whenever he’s ready to come back, I’ll be excited to see him.”

Higgins is set to earn $21.8 million this season on the tag.

He was limited to 12 games last year due to rib and hamstring injuries, recording 42 receptions for 656 yards and five touchdowns.

He surpassed 1,000 yards each of the two previous years, however, and was instrumental to the team’s 2021-22 run to the Super Bowl.

The Bengals picked Higgins in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Clemson.

The team already has significant money committed to Burrow, who is in the middle of a five-year, $275 million contract.

Stud receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who is entering the fourth season of his rookie deal, is looking for a long-term extension as well.

Chase and Higgins, when both healthy, have formed one of the NFL’s best receiving duos, but the Bengals will likely have to balance them together in terms of who they want to commit long-term money to.

Superstar Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson recently signed a four-year, $140 million extension with the team, and it could be a range in which Chase seeks to approach — or surpass — for a new deal.