Report: Cincinnati Bengals place franchise tag on Tee Higgins

For the second season in a row, the Cincinnati Bengals have used their franchise tag on wide receiver Tee Higgins, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. They will pay Higgins $26.2 million to keep him in Cincinnati next season.

Higgins played under a franchise tag of $21.8 million last season. He finished the year with 73 catches for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns, tied for the sixth-most in the NFL. He’s spent all five of his seasons in the NFL with the Bengals.

The Bengals had until March 12 to come to a long-term agreement with Higgins but had to use their franchise tag by March 4. If contract discussions were not progressing, the Bengals likely used the franchise tag to ensure they would have Higgins on the roster next season.

At the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday, Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin clarified he wants Higgins to remain a part of the organization.

“Tee Higgins is a fantastic football player, and I want him on my football team,” Tobin said. “Whenever I’m in charge of a football team, I want Tee Higgins, and so I’m going to do what I can to get Tee Higgins. Our preference with Tee Higgins is to do a long-term agreement. Always has been, it continues to be, and we’ll work hard to get that done.

“We are fortunate. We’ve got a lot of really good football players, fantastic football players, and we’re fortunate to be in a position to where we can fit them all in. We’ve managed our cap well. We’ve got low dead money. We want a high payroll and low dead money, so the people that are in Cincinnati playing for us can get all the money. That’s what we want. And we’re in a position to re-sign these guys.”

Higgins isn’t the only standout wide receiver whose long-term future with the Bengals is uncertain. Star receiver Ja’Marr Chase‘s contract will end after the 2025-26 season. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bengals plan on making Chase the highest-paid non-QB in the NFL to keep him with the organization.

“We’re going to reward Ja’Marr,” Tobin said.

Chase led the NFL in receiving yards (1,708), touchdowns (17) and receptions (127) last season. The Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson is currently the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL, earning an average of $35 million a year. To keep Chase around for the foreseeable future, the Bengals will likely have to top this number.