The Cincinnati Bengals, at least for now, might not be looking for a Tee Higgins replacement in the 2025 NFL Draft, but they definitely might need some help. On Monday, the Bengals took the first step toward retaining Higgins as they placed the franchise tag on him, as reported by NFL Media insider Ian Rapoport.
It's not all that surprising given where things have been trending for the Bengals according to reports. Duke Tobin and the Cincinnati front office appear to be bowing to the desires of Joe Burrow and many players in the locker room of retaining Higgins along with locking in Ja'Marr Chase to a new contract, the same of which is true for Trey Hendrickson. Rapoport also reported that Cincy is trying to work out a long-term deal with Higgins after placing the tag on him.
What this means in the long run, though, is that the Bengals are going to retain their stars. On paper and on the surface, that's not a bad thing — even if it's surprising given the cheap-ish reputation that the organization has at this point. At the same time, though, the Miami Dolphins can certainly warn the Bengals about the pitfalls of such a strategy.
Tee Higgins franchise tag should come with warning label for Bengals
For several offseasons, it looked liked the Dolphins were building a proverbial super team with the talent they kept adding to the mix with no regards for spending. Whether it was Tyreek Hill, Jalen Ramsey, Jaylen Waddle's next deal, or even Bradley Chubb, they were star hunting and kept adding to it. Unlike the Bengals, though, they were doing so with Tua Tagovailoa on a rookie deal.
Once Tua got his new lucrative contact, though, things changed in a massive way. Over the past couple of seasons, Miami has been paying the pied piper when it comes to having the top-heavy talent on the roster. They've been forced to part with the likes of Christian Wilkins and most likely Jevon Holland as well soon. And that's just a couple of examples of key players they were simply financially unable to retain.
With the Bengals, that's a terrifying proposition given what the front office has done and what the team has lost just with Burrow being paid. They never replaced Jessie Bates and saw the defense start to crumble last season, which then cost them Lou Anarumo on the coaching staff as well. That's only going to become more commonplace when so much money is committed to Burrow, Higgins, Chase and Hendrickson.
Yes, teams have to pay their stars. At the same time, the salary cap makes the NFL a league wherein it's impossible to have your cake and eat it too unless Tom Brady is taking a massive pay cut to work that out. Sometimes, you have to make tough decisions to make sure the depth is there and that the roster doesn't have glaring holes.
The Dolphins are learning this the hard way right now. And based on the Bengals franchise tagging Higgins and aiming to pay him more, it seems like it's something they also might take some lumps as well while they learn that lesson.