The Cincinnati Bengals open their mandatory minicamp today, at which they ought to have full attendance. Attendance is mandatory, after all. But ought and will are not always synonymous, and in this case, are almost surely not. For one thing, WR Tee Higgins almost undoubtedly won’t be there since he doesn’t even have a signed contract. But WR Ja’Marr Chase does, and it’s not at all clear that he plans to show up.
Higgins is entering his fifth season after completing his rookie contract. Rather than sign him to an extension, as he wanted, the Bengals placed the franchise tag on him. In turn, Higgins requested a trade and has stayed away from the team since. Chase has also been away from the team—until yesterday.
According to Ian Rapoport, Chase did show up for the Bengals’ media day. That basically involved their taking pictures and videos and recording promos for use during the season. But Chase showing up for that doesn’t mean he plans to take the field. I don’t know if Higgins also showed up for media day, but Rapoport made no mention of him.
“Ja’Marr Chase was at least in the building today”, Rapoport said. “The mandatory minicamp is not today, but that is, in fact, numero uno taking part in the media portion of the Bengals’ availability”, he said on the NFL Network yesterday. “He was there for that. “We do not know, though, whether he is going to be actually there for mandatory minicamp”. Again, no mention of Tee Higgins also attending media day.
As he mentioned in the report, Higgins failing to report to mandatory minicamp would not be a holdout because he is not under contract. He has not signed his franchise tag deal, and thus has no obligations to the team at this time. Chase failing to report to mandatory minicamp would be a bigger deal. The team can opt to fine him, though teams often waive such fines.
The Bengals’ passing game suffered with QB Joe Burrow’s health in flux last season. Higgins, who also missed five games, only caught 42 passes for 656 yards and five touchdowns, for example. Through his first three seasons, the former second-round pick caught 215 passes for 3,028 yards and 19 touchdowns.
As for Ja’Marr Chase, he still managed to produce last year even without Burrow for much of the year. In 16 games, he caught 100 passes for 1,216 yards and seven touchdowns. One could argue that the situation forced Chase to prove that he can win in different ways.
A former top-five draft pick, Chase is universally regarded as one of the best receivers in the game. He is likely shooting for the ballpark of college teammate Justin Jefferson’s recent record-setting deal of $35 million per year. If the Bengals are prepared to pay anywhere near that, then it’s safe to say they’re not re-signing Higgins, too. But they are trying to win a Super Bowl, so they will not rescind his franchise tag.
