Where do we start with the Cincinnati Bengals? The camaraderie Joe Burrow has with Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase or the fact that he might have to say goodbye to one of his friends in the off-season? The Bengals are coming off a 37-27 win against the Tennessee Titans, which has given them a ray of hope. Hope that they still have a chance to make it to playoffs.

But after the game, Burrow and Higgins took a few minutes to have a chat with their former teammate, the WR Tyler Boyd. It was a lighthearted interaction between the three. However, it gave the impression that Joe Burrow has already accepted the bitter truth about this season.

“I love y’all man,” Boyd told Burrow and Higgins. The Cincinnati QB reciprocated Boyd’s feelings. He said, “I’ll see you in the offseason.” But how can the LSU alum think about giving up? What else does seeing someone in the offseason imply? It doesn’t make any sense because Joe Burrow is playing like he’s never played before.

That became apparent when the Cincy QB broke his own franchise record by reaching 36 touchdowns with the season in jeopardy. In the win against the Titans, Burrow amassed 271 yards and three touchdowns shared amongst Tee Higgins, Chase Brown, and Sam Hubbard.

Along with a lone TD, Higgins had 88 yards over 5 receptions, boosting his average yards to 17.6. Ja’Marr Chase on the other hand saw more utility with 9 passes over 94 yards. While both receivers have been immaculate at their jobs, the Bengals might not have the resources to keep both wideouts in the system.

There are many who think that Tee Higgins might end up getting the short end of the stick. But that’s not what Joe Burrow thinks. He disclosed that the Bengals are discussing the semantics of the deal with Higgins. And they appeared “confident” about the team trying to retain Higgins.

“I know that I’m going to do what it takes to get him back and so is he,” Burrow said. “We’ve had those talks. Those are going to be offseason discussions. But I think we’re excited about that opportunity.” But time is of the essence here and Tee Higgins might not want to wait till the next offseason, because he’s already playing on a $21.8 million franchise tag. In the wake of this uncertainty, Higgins decided to make a change in his management.

Tee Higgins isn’t leaving any stone unturned

Higgins parted ways with his former agent David Mulugheta and signed with Ja’Marr Chase’s agent, Rocky Arceneaux. League sources told The Enquirer that Arceneaux will be working towards making Chase and Higgins the highest-paid non-QBs in NFL history. Higgins has been seeking a long-term deal since March 2023, per ESPN.

A year later in March 2024, Higgins requested a trade from the Bengals to find a new home. But per the Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin said back in March, “The reason we franchised him is because we would like to have him,” and that “He’s not under contract and it’s hard for me to predict all the different scenarios that could happen. But we feel strongly about Tee Higgins and his fit with us.”

Coming back to the present, the Bengals’ narrative around Tee Higgins hasn’t changed. In fact, everyone roots for the receiver to stay in Cincy. Ja’Marr Chase hopes that “he [Higgins] can stay and we can keep this going.” Earlier, it would have seemed unfair to hand out a contract to Ja’Marr Chase but not Higgins. But things have taken an exciting turn now that both WRs have employed the same agent.