Tee Higgins is playing the 2024 season on a franchise tag

Cincinnati’s 2023 season did not end how they had intended it to. Joe Burrow suffered a wrist injury and missed the final six games of the regular season. The Bengals still finished 9-8 but they did not make the postseason. One major storyline for the Bengals this offseason has been WR Tee Higgins. 

In February, the team announced they were going to use the franchise tag on Higgins for the 2024 season. A few weeks later, Higgins informed the team he wanted to be traded. Cincinnati had to work with Higgins this offseason to try and get a deal done. Or at least convince him to stay for the 2024. At his youth football camp in April, Higgins told the media he plans to play for the Bengals this upcoming season. Yesterday was the deadline to get a long-term deal signed, Leaving Higgins to play on the franchise tag in 2024.

The 2024 season could end up being Tee Higgins’ final year with the Bengals

From The Insiders on @NFLNetwork: #Bengals WR Tee Higgins will play on the franchise tag, which means all 9 players who were tagged have seen their situations come to a conclusion (for this year, at least). pic.twitter.com/yId3wxCIw7

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 15, 2024

Tee Higgins was in a unique situation this offseason. Of the nine players who were designated to a franchise tag in March, he was the only player to not receive a long-term extension. Carolina traded Brian Burns and the Chiefs traded L’Jarious Sneed. Both players signed long-term deals with their new respective teams. According to the CBA, Higgins is not eligible to sign a contract extension until the end of the 2024 season. His 2024 campaign will be a huge year to determine where Higgins will play in 2025 and what type of contract he will get.

To start his NFL career, Tee Higgins was a second-round pick by the Bengals out of Clemson. The 25-year-old just finished his fourth season with the team and the worst of his pro career thus far. Higgins played in a career-low 12 games and made 11 starts. His 42 receptions for 656 yards and five touchdowns were all career lows. Despite his down season in 2023, the Bengals know they have a playmaker in Tee Higgins. He’s an excellent complement to Pro Bowl WR Ja’Marr Chase.

“Tee Higgins was the only player to be franchise tagged this offseason who didn’t get a long term deal..

In all probability he will leave Cincinnati after this season” ~ @AdamSchefter #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Py411Pfmc7

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 15, 2024

The Bengals know the type of production they can get from Tee Higgins when he’s at his best. He had back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022 with 1,000+ receiving yards. Cincinnati would love to see their playmaking WR have another productive season like that. In all honesty, the team needs Higgins to be that type of WR again with Tyler Boyd parting with the Bengals this offseason. The team did draft Alabama’s  Jermaine Burton in the third round. If Higgins is not playing up to his standard, Burton could see a bigger role as a rookie.