The Cincinnati Bengals officially placed a franchise tag on wide receiver Tee Higgins on Monday, preventing him from reaching free agency next month.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor is thrilled to have Higgins back in the fold for 2024 and said as much after Cincinnati locked the wide out up at least through next season.
“Tee has done an outstanding job for us since we drafted him in 2020,” Taylor said, via the Bengals’ official team website. “I’m glad that he’ll continue to be a big part of our offense and our team.”
Higgins will earn just under $22 million under the tag next year. Cincinnati will have until mid-July to reach a long-term agreement with him.
The 25-year-old is coming off of a disappointing 2023 campaign in which he was limited to 12 games due to injuries. During his time on the field, he logged 42 catches for 656 yards and five touchdowns—all career lows.
Higgins, who played his collegiate football at Clemson, was selected by the Bengals in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
He enjoyed an impressive rookie year, catching 67 passes for 908 yards and six scores. He then showed some improvement in his sophomore season, hauling in 74 receptions for 1,091 yards while reaching the end zone six times. Higgins would proceed to post nearly identical numbers in 2022, snaring 74 balls for 1,029 yards and seven touchdowns.
By franchising Higgins, Cincinnati guarantees itself of maintaining the dynamic receiver duo of Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase heading into 2024.
Beyond that, however, remains a major question mark for the Bengals.
Chase is eligible for a contract extension this offseason, and it’s up in the air as to whether or not Cincinnati can afford to keep both Chase and Higgins for the long haul.
But for now, Bengals fans can rest easy knowing that Tee Higgins won’t be hitting the open market in a couple of weeks.
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