The Cincinnati Bengals are tangoing with two players unhappy with their contract status; DE Trey Hendrickson remains on board, however, while WR Tee Higgins is staying away. There are glaring differences between the two cases, mind you. For instance, Higgins doesn’t currently have a signed contract.
The fifth-year wide receiver was due to hit unrestricted free agency in 2024 before the Bengals slapped him with the franchise tag. He still hasn’t signed it, however, and in fact he’s not even allowed to show up until he does. That means, necessarily, he won’t be at OTAs, and he doesn’t have to go to mandatory minicamp, either.
At least up to this point, that is Higgins’ intention. ESPN’s Ben Baby confirmed that he has no plan to sign his franchise tag at this time and report to the Bengals’ OTAs beginning next week. As we’ve previously discussed, the Bengals reportedly haven’t even discussed the possibility of an extension with Higgins in more than a year. In other words, they have no intention of re-signing him beyond this season, at this time.
As for Hendrickson’s case, he is already under contract but simply wants more years and more money. He has already shown up at the team facility for Phase 1 of offseason workouts and will be at OTAs. He’s even spoken complimentarily about the Bengals’ front office. We haven’t really heard much from Tee Higgins, on the other hand, which is no surprise.
Not much, yet not nothing. Over a month ago he already seemed to indicate that he expects to play this season. And the Bengals have expressed that they have no desire to trade him, though with the right offer, who knows. Lots of teams do things that they claim they have no plans of doing, including the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Interestingly, Higgins is the only player this offseason who received the franchise tag without signing a long-term deal. He is the only one in the NFL in 2024 in this particular boat. But there are no indications he intends to follow the Le’Veon Bell model and sit out the season. I’m not sure Bengals owner Mike Brown would mind since it would mean saving money.
A 2020 second-round pick, Higgins has 257 career receptions for 3,684 yards with 24 touchdowns. As with the rest of the offense, his numbers were down last season largely due to QB Joe Burrow’s health. Burrow, whom the Bengals selected in the same draft class, publicly supported Higgins earlier this month.
What’s next, frankly, remains unclear. If the Bengals have no intentions of opening up talks, we’re approaching an impasse. They have until July 15 to negotiate a multi-year contract. After that, they can only discuss one-year arrangements, or Higgins simply has to decide to sign the tag or not.
Higgins hasn’t made so much in his career that he can afford to turn his nose up at $21,816,000. Though he’s made $9,885,226 in his career thus far, there is virtually zero chance he sits out the season. More than doubling your lifetime income in one year is too tempting to have principles stand in the way.
