NFL Explainer: Ian Rappoport Reveals What Being Franchise Tagged Could Mean for Bengals’ Tee Higgins

It’s been a long time coming for Tee Higgins. After rigorous negotiations, the Cincinnati Bengals finally agreed to franchise tag Higgins in hopes of retaining him for the 2024 season and beyond. After nearing the end of his rookie contract, he finally negotiated a deal of $21.8 million and it seems like the money comes without any catch.

Ian Rapoport was quick to analyze Higgins’ situation and had his own take on the matter. Apparently, being franchise-tagged doesn’t mean Tee Higgins should get complacent about his future at all. It’s just momentary comfort and Higgins might have to prove his mettle in the future.

The Cincinnati Bengals tag Tee Higgins

Per Rapoport, Higgins is the first player to be franchise-tagged by the Cincinnati Bengals and has been Joe Burrow’s go-to target throughout the season. He was informed about the development late Saturday night. His new deal entails a 1 year, $21,816,000 contract and there is no bonus attached to it, just a base salary of $21.8 million. But it doesn’t mean that the Bengals have guaranteed his stay for the foreseeable future.

The franchise tagging just means that the team has an exclusive deal with Higgins but is still open to trade talks if any other team decides to sign the wide receiver to their roster. Per Rapoport, this tagging doesn’t mean that there will be any “long term talks” in advance. The gist of the situation is that Higgins might still be up for grabs if any other teams show interest in signing him.

But for now, it seems like the Bengals have utmost faith in their receiver, as their HC Zac Taylor has high hopes for their receiver. “Tee has done an outstanding job for us since we drafted him in 2020,” Taylor said. “I’m glad that he’ll continue to be a big part of our offense and our team.” Exciting times are ahead for the Cincinnati Bengals and Higgins is at the forefront of it.

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What does the future hold for the Bengals?

Higgins franchise tagging, as explained earlier, means that other teams may also come and match the Bengals’ offer, and the Cincinnati team would be able to counter it. If, for some reason, they fail to come to an agreement, the Bengals will receive two first-round picks in exchange for Higgins’ trade. But for now, we don’t see that happening.

Also, if we’re talking about receivers, Ja’Marr Chase is another individual that the Bengals have a penchant for. This is his last year with the Bengals, so they might have to devise some actions to keep their WR1 as well. Chase currently operates on a base salary of $1,055,000 but has hefty bonuses in place.

Coming back to Higgins, the WR has 257 receptions for 3684 yards and 24 touchdowns in 58 career regular-season games. He also has 31 catches for 457 yards and three touchdowns in seven playoff games. This performance might be the reason, amongst others, to keep Higgins around.

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