The Cincinnati Bengals are going to mess up the Tee Higgins contract situation once again. After having him be the only player in the NFL last year to play out the season on the franchise tag, what is to stop them from tagging him for a second time? The Bengals do things differently. Always have, and probably always will. However, they are never ones to fork up copious amounts of cash for anyone.
On an episode of The Next Pats Podcast from over the weekend, Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston revealed some interesting intel about the Higgins contract situation. While it does not say that the New England Patriots are the party to beat if Higgins were to hit free agency, the chances of him going back to Cincinnati are not as strong as originally thought. They need a No. 1 wide receiver.
Perry's reporting indicates Higgins going back to Cincinnati is a "believe it when they see it" situation.
“I would just say this: There are folks in the NFL who aren’t sure that even though the reporting is the Bengals plan to use the franchise tag on Tee Higgins if they can’t get a long-term deal done, people are telling me they’ll believe it when they see it."
He followed that by saying Joe Burrow loves playing with Higgins and may carry a ton of clout in this.
“I think the reasoning is this: You can go ahead and do that. You can figure out the cap. Joe Burrow has basically done the cocktail-napkin math for you. But, at some point, you have to try to get better defensively, don’t you?”
Perry finished with the big concerns surrounding a fading defense and three pricey offensive stars.
“People are looking at it saying, ‘Yeah, and where did that get you? You didn’t make the playoffs.' But it’s an, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it,’ sort of attitude when people look at the Bengals. They know their reputation. They know how that roster is constructed right now. And yes, they know what the quarterback wants. And they know what financially the Bengals can achieve, which is keeping all three of their stars. But at some point they have to get better defensively, don’t they? Don’t they have to try to field a defense? That’s the opinion on Tee Higgins right now.”
Cincinnati hired former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden to bridge the gap defensively.
Tee Higgins to New England Patriots rumors are firmly back on the table
Because Burrow is not going anywhere, the Bengals can always try to do creative accounting to eventually get him his money, while saving more to pay Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase handsomely. Cincinnati shall remain an offensive-minded team for as long as Burrow is in his prime and Zac Taylor is their head coach. However, defensive prowess is what made that team great not all that long ago.
As far as the Patriots are concerned, Higgins could be the ideal type of No. 1 receiving option to get the most out of Drake Maye's undeniable talent. Higgins was a No. 1 wide receiver during his playing days at Clemson. He briefly was that with the Bengals before Chase was the team's first-round pick a year later out of LSU in 2021. The Bengals have already lost so much in free agency in recent years.
Clearly, the Bengals know what they are doing in the NFL Draft. How many teams have hit more home runs of late than Cincinnati and the rest of Duke Tobin's staff? Conversely, the Bengals still have been unable to shake their reputation for being painfully cheap. The Browns still own the team and are arguably the last mom and pop shop in the NFL today. Higgins may not want to be paid in meatballs.
New England may be a major player for Higgins in free agency, but the Bengals must let him walk first.