One of the biggest arguments over the course of the 2024 offseason has been whether or not the Cincinnati Bengals will retain the services of star secondary receiver Tee Higgins. After choosing to procrastinate on the fate of their target man last offseason, Cincinnati once again kicked the can down the road by applying the franchise tag to Higgins to start the 2024 NFL offseason.
Will Higgins Actually Play for the Bengals in 2024?
Even though he is now under contract for the upcoming season on a guaranteed contract worth $21.8 million, the odds of him actually playing a down for Cincinnati are by no means set in stone. There is heavy speculation that the tag was applied for the sole purpose of dealing the Clemson product for draft capital after the team likely accepted the fact that they simply cannot afford the talented player. There are still many though that hold out hope that the tag was applied with the goal of giving Higgins a long-term extension on his contract.
Buccaneers Big Contract May Impact Decision in Cincinnati
Unfortunately for Cincinnati, their effort to sign Higgins to a long-term deal have taken a substantial hit after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed 30-year-old wide receiver Mike Evans to a two-year contract worth $52 million (an average of $26 per season). Considering that the fair market value for Evans (provided by Spotrac) is only $23.8 million per year, the contract for Higgins will likely be even more costly to Cincinnati than expected.
There has been a hope that a contract for Higgins would be in the realm on $18 million per season but the contract to Evans (a talented but certainly aged receiver) has definitely reset the wide receiver market. That means that a contract to Higgins will likely be more in the realm of $21 million per season now and it will be that much harder for the team to get a deal done.
What is the
There is a silver lining to the Evans contract in Tampa Bay: one of the best receivers just came off the market and the demand for Higgins will dramatically increase ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. Based on his weak 2023 performance, the expectation up until now was that trading Higgins would only yield a second round pick. After the supply of talented wide receivers (particularly with larger pass-catchers) has diminished, Higgins will likely pull a mid- to late-first round draft pick this April.
Higgins may be an exceptional player but it was always an uphill battle to bring him back in 2024. The franchise tag means that the team has the option to hold on to him this year but if the team doesn’t trade him, they will almost certainly be unable to get anything in return for his exit next season.
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