Report: Wide receiver Tee Higgins requests trade from Cincinnati Bengals after franchise tagging

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins is reportedly requesting a trade from his squad after they placed the franchise tag on him. NFL insider Adam Schefter reports ahead of the league new year that Higgins “loves” Cincinnati but is “disappointed” by the team’s lack of communication on a long-term deal.

“Higgins loves Cincinnati and hoped to be with the team long term, but is disappointed that the team has not had any talks about a long-term contract extension since March 2023,” Schefter shared on Monday. “He’s ready to move on to a new home.”

If Higgins were to stay with the Bengals and play on the franchise tag for the 2024 season, they would owe him $21.8 million in fully guaranteed money. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor addressed the wideout’s status with the team at the NFL Scouting Combine last week.

“I wasn’t too stressed about not having Tee next year,” Taylor said during an interview with PFT Live. “Internally, when you have those conversations, there wasn’t a whole lot for me to stress about. He’s a huge part of what we do. He works his tail off to put himself in position to be where he’s at. So he needs to be a part of what we’re doing.”

Higgins put up 908 yards as a rookie, then 1,400 yards on the nose between the regular season and Super Bowl run in 2021-22. He then posted over 1,200 combined in 2022-23 with just 656 yards in an injury-limited season in 2023. He also has 27 total career touchdowns with two of those coming in the 2022 Super Bowl.

More on the 2024 NFL offseason, free agency

The NFL 2024 calendar year begins at 4 p.m. ET on March 13. At that time, contracts running through 2023 officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 20 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 5. Beginning March 11 through March 13 teams can enter into a legal negotiation with players who will become unrestricted free agents.

In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 19 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets. On April 24, the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets hits. Following the restricted free agent deadline follows the 2024 NFL Draft, which runs from April 25-27.