The Cincinnati Bengals were without wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins at the start of their OTAs on Tuesday as they negotiate for new contracts this offseason. Chase made the decision to miss the voluntary practice, but Higgins is ineligible to play with the team.
Tee Higgins wants a major pay raise
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Higgins is arguably the messier of the two situations. That is because the Bengals decided to place their franchise tag on Higgins this offseason. Because of this, Higgins is expected to make nearly $22 million this upcoming season.
He is 25 years old and this is the last year of his rookie contract. Because of this, Higgins is due for a massive pay raise moving forward. The Bengals still need to decide if they are going to be the team to give that raise to Higgins.
Higgins is not eligible to join the Cincinnati Bengals right now
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Per an ESPN report Tuesday, the Bengals have drawn up the paperwork for Higgins to sign, but he has not signed the franchise tender. Adam Schefter with ESPN reported Higgins was not expected to sign his franchise tender by this week, making him ineligible to join the team until he signs:
The Bengals star receiver still has not signed his franchise tender and is not expected to by next week, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday, which would make Higgins ineligible to report for Cincinnati’s organized team activities that run May 28-30 and June 3-6.
Cincinnati’s mandatory minicamp is scheduled for June 11-13. Higgins cannot rejoin the team until he signs.
Higgins and the Bengals have been unable to come to terms on a long-term deal. The two sides haven’t discussed an extension in over a year, a source told ESPN.
The Bengals believe Chase and Higgins will return to the team
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Bengals head coach Zac Taylor believes Chase and Higgins will return with the team at the “right” time.
“[Chase and Higgins] are still working hard elsewhere, and they’ll be back at the right times,” Taylor said. “And the beauty is we know those guys, we know what they’re about and that they’ll be ready and focused when it’s time to come back.”
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