Tee Higgins injury update: Latest on Bengals WR status vs. Eagles, per report

There’s a very real chance that Bengals wideout Tee Higgins, who injured his quad in Friday’s practice, has to miss Sunday’s game against the Eagles. The Bengals are planning to go right up until game time before making the decision, but there’s pessimism about his chances to play, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.

More on his contract situation with the franchise

Tee Higgins wanted a long-term agreement with the Bengals. Instead, the Cincinnati receiver will play this season with a one-year contract via the franchise tag.

Higgins, the former Clemson standout, now has one year remaining with the Bengals. He’ll earn a fully-guaranteed $21.816 million. The NFL pre-determines these salaries. They’re based on the average of the top five salaries at the position or 120 percent of the player’s previous salary, whichever is higher. Of course, the Bengals can try to sign him again in 2025. But he will be a free agent.

The franchise tag isn’t used by every team, every year. In fact, there were only eight players this off-season who received the tag. And of those eight, Higgins was the only player who didn’t successfully negotiate a longer-term contract.

This may be Higgins’ final season with the Bengals since Cincinnati will also need to renegotiate with star Ja’Marr Chase next off-season. The Bengals selected Chase out of LSU with the fifth pick of the of the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s made the Pro Bowl in each of his three seasons. And no doubt, he’ll command a big salary, especially in today’s market for receivers.

Cincinnati might not have been able to afford to pay Higgins, an early second-round pick in 2020, what the current receiver market commands. Tyreek Hill had been the highest-paid coming into 2023. He was averaging $30 million per year with the Dolphins. But Justin Jefferson became the highest-paid receiver (and non-quarterback) when he agreed to a deal with the Vikings worth $35 million annually. The Eagles A.J. Brown and Lions Amon-Ra St Brown each agreed to a deal worth $32 million a year.

Higgins salary with the Bengals now ranks 15th.

In his Bengals career, he has 286 total catches for 4,025 receiving yards and 27 touchdowns.

On3’s Suzanne Halliburton also contributed to this article.