The Cincinnati Bengals have heard Joe Burrow. The front office has heard his constant plea to keep the team together and find a way to pay every single weapon their offense has. He’s offered to restructure his contract; he’s willing to do whatever he can to keep the core of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins together.
Now the ball is in GM Duke Tobin's court. It's on Cincy to take the baton and run with it, and at least on the surface, it appears the team is willing to do just that. In fact, according to NFL.com, the Bengals would consider franchise-tagging Higgins again while working on a long-term deal to make sure he doesn’t hit the open market at the start of free agency. But even then, that’s a tricky game to play.
If the two sides don’t agree to a long-term deal, they risk paying Higgins to hold out, possibly even for a whole season — which, given Higgins' injury history, is a real possibility. He doesn’t have to prove his worth to the Bengals. Even when he did miss time this past year, he proved how valuable he is to an offense that already has the NFL’s best wide receiver on its side.
Are Bengals just trying to run out the clock on Tee Higgins pursuit?
If the Bengals plan on using the franchise tag in good faith — in hopes of seriously locking down a new contract — then it’s a smart play. But if they’re stalling and keeping Higgins from seeing his true value in hopes that they can simply run out the clock and coerce him into taking less, that’s just plain selfish.
And truthfully, it would do more harm than good. Burrow wants to keep this offensive unit together as long as the team can, not just rent it for another year. So the Bengals have to truly be working toward a long-term deal with Higgins or risk alienating not just their No. 2 wideout but the most important player in the building.
Burrow has the most pull in this situation because it sure seems like, had he not been adamant to the front office and even offering up a contract restructure, that there’s no doubt Higgins would already be gone. But is the front office just going through this song and dance to keep Burrow quiet for the time being? While the franchise tag does keep Higgins in Cincinnati without forcing the Bengals to overpay right now, it doesn’t mean he’ll actually play if they can’t agree to terms. And if they don't, then that makes 2026 even crazier.
The Bengals exercised Chase’s fifth-year option, which means they’ll have to pay him after the 2025 season is over. And Chase is not playing on a franchise tag, not after winning the receiving triple crown in his fourth season in the league. There's no chance the Bengals want to have to worry about paying both of their top receivers in the same offseason or lose one or both of them. Which means they’ll have to entertain the same philosophy the Philadelphia Eagles did, especially after it earned them a championship.
If the Bengals want to retain everybody and keep Burrow happy, the only logical move is to have voided contract years on the back end of their top contracts to ensure they have the cap space to afford everyone now. The risk is obviously that, after the players’ contracts are up, the Bengals will still have to account for that cap space. But if it brings a Super Bowl or two, it'll be worth it regardless.
That’s probably Cincinnati’s emergency plan, but it may have to be their plan A, especially if they don’t agree to a long-term deal with Higgins before the season starts.