After racking up over 4500 yards in five seasons, Tee Higgins now finds himself as one of the most sought-after wide receivers in the 2025 offseason. However, the Cincinnati Bengals are not prepared to see him walk out of their building just yet.
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In an attempt to prevent Higgins from becoming an unrestricted free agent, the team is now planning to place yet another franchise tag on the Clemson product.
As rumors involving the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots continue to swarm, a second consecutive tagging would be nothing more than a temporary solution for the Bengals. A former receiver himself, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson shared his thoughts on the situation, citing that business should take precedence.
“We can’t be selfish in this instance when it comes to business, we can’t be selfish. Yes, we would love to keep the band together… But it’s unfair for Joe to get his money… to pay Ja’Marr Chase… Tee Higgins deserves his money as well,” Johnson said on the latest episode of the NightCap.
Claiming that Higgins is “not going to be able to get what he is worth,” the former Bengal doesn’t appreciate that the 26-year-old receiver is the one being asked to take the pay cut. “You don’t do that,” said Ocho, while his co-host, Shannon Sharpe, had little sympathy for the Bengals’ WR2.
Sharpe said this is all a result of his failures in previous negotiations.
“It’s hard for me to feel sorry for a problem that they created,” Shannon stated, highlighting that Higgins opted to “bargain for petty privileges,” rather than negotiate over details such as franchise tags.
Sharpe believes that the current situation is inevitable for Higgins. However, he did agree that it is wrong if the Bengals potentially hinder Higgins’ odds of securing a payday.
“Pay him or allow him to go someplace else… Baseball doesn’t have a franchise tag, basketball doesn’t have a franchise tag… Microsoft can’t put a tag on me,” said Sharpe.
The implementation of consecutive franchise tags signifies that a player is talented. See Saquon Barkley. So Higgins should be flattered.
Unfortunately, that’s about all it does for him, apart from a minor pay increase, one that would be minuscule compared to the deal that he could fetch on the open market right now.
Despite being the perennial WR2 on the field, Higgins managed to produce WR1 value. Considering that the man he works under is Ja’Marr Chase, that makes his ability to command targets even more impressive.
Meanwhile, regardless of where he ultimately lands before the start of the 2025 regular season, Higgins is a safe bet to continue maintaining his stellar career averages.
