After a slow start to the season, the Cincinnati Bengals have been arguably the hottest team in the NFL over the last month and remain alive ahead of their Week 18 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The biggest reason why the Bengals have been able to rebound from their putrid start has been the play of Joe Burrow, who has looked like one of, if not the best quarterback in the NFL. As electric as he has been, though, he cannot do it alone.
Burrow has taken off particularly lately because he's had his two best receivers - Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins - available to throw to. Chase is arguably the best wideout in the game, and Higgins would be a WR1 for several teams. Having both of them healthy and on the team is huge for Cincinnati's success, and Burrow knows that.
Cincinnati extending Chase feels like a no-brainer, but the question of whether they'd be willing to give big money to both game-changing receivers is one Bengals fans and even Burrow are wondering.
“It's obviously a possibility,” Burrow said Tuesday, via Paul Dehner Jr. of TheAthletic.com, “not one that I’m excited about, but that’s not in the plans, I would say.”
His argument for keeping both Higgins and Chase around is one Cincinnati ownership is going to have to think long and hard about, especially when their defense needs a ton of work.
“Whenever a great player leaves, you wish you could have found a way to keep them,” Burrow said. “You don’t want to make a living out of letting great players leave the building. I think that’s why you got to do everything you can to get those deals done early.”
The Bengals will be impacted either way, whether Higgins goes or stays. If he walks, the Bengals can spend money in other areas, but, will lose arguably the best WR2 in football. If he stays, the Bengals keep their high-end weapon and keep their franchise player happy, but, will likely have to watch these three players depart.
3) Mike Gesicki would be too expensive to retain if the Bengals re-sign Tee Higgins
Cincinnati's offense is obviously very Chase and Higgins-centric, but Mike Gesicki has been underratedly productive in his first season with the Bengals.
The 29-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Bengals this past offseason and has exceeded expectations, putting together his best season since 2021. Through 16 games, Gesicki has recorded 57 receptions for 597 yards and two touchdowns. He ranks 12th among tight ends in receiving yards, and receptions, while also ranking third on the team in those same statistics.
The Bengals would obviously love to keep Gesicki around, considering how seamless of a fit he's been into their offense, but he's earned a fairly hefty raise from the $2.5 million he's making this season. If the Bengals bring Higgins back, it becomes tougher to justify giving that deserved raise to him.
2) The Bengals can cut Zack Moss regardless of the Tee Higgins outcome
When Zack Moss signed a two-year deal with the Bengals last offseason, the expectation was that he'd lead Cincinnati's backfield in place of Joe Mixon who was traded to the Houston Texans. He started the year in control of the backfield, but that didn't last long.
In the eight games he appeared in for the Bengals this season, Moss rushed for 242 yards and two touchdowns in 74 attempts, averaging just 3.3 yards per carry. His struggles led the Bengals to give Chase Brown more of the work, and eventually, Brown took over as the team's undisputed starter. Soon after that happened, Moss suffered a season-ending neck injury in an early November practice.
Brown has continued to play well in Moss' absence, and will be the team's starter at that position next season. The Bengals could choose to keep Moss in the mix as the backup, but do they really want to pay his $4.97 million cap hit just to run the ball a handful of times? Probably not, and that decision becomes even clearer if Higgins is retained.
1) Paying Trey Hendrickson becomes increasingly tougher if the Tee Higgins re-signs
This is the big one. Giving Higgins the money he deserves sounds great, in theory. It keeps Burrow happy, it takes some pressure off of Chase, and clearly, helps the team boast one of, if not the most dynamic passing offenses in the sport.
Giving Higgins that substantial extension also makes it tougher to hold onto other great players. Assuming they pay Chase high-end money as well, that's a large chunk of payroll Cincinnati will be spreading to Burrow, Chase, and Higgins. They all deserve to be paid handsomely, but how many more massive contracts can they afford?
Trey Hendrickson is one of the best defensive ends in the NFL. He leads the league with 14 sacks, and has also tacked on a couple of forced fumbles, five defended passes, 41 tackles, and 31 QB hits.
Hendrickson is under contract through the 2025 season, but keeping him around beyond that becomes increasingly difficult if they pay Higgins. Unfortunately, you just can't pay everyone.