The Cincinnati Bengals will try to sign wide receivers Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase as well as defensive end Trey Hendrickson to long-term contract extensions this year, according to sources who spoke to ESPN. Higgins’ contract expires this off-season, meaning he can become a free agent if he does not come to terms with Cincy on a new agreement. Meanwhile, Hendrickson and Chase will become free agents next year unless they both sign new deals.
With Higgins’s contract expiring, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero said the Bengals are “focused on getting a long-term deal” done with the 26-year-old wideout. Though they hope they won’t have to use their franchise tag, Cincy would consider using its tag on Higgins for a second straight year if they can’t agree on a new deal by the March 4th deadline.
In the NFL, a team can use a franchise tag to retain a rostered player for one year. When a player is franchise tagged, their contract is equal to the average value of the top five salaries at that player’s position over the last five years or 120% of the player’s previous salary (whichever is the greater of the two figures).
The franchise tag window opens on February 18th at 4 p.m. ET and closes two weeks later at 4 p.m. ET on March 4th. Once a player is franchise-tagged, that individual and his team have until July 15th to negotiate a new long-term deal. If an agreement is not reached by that date, then the player will participate in the upcoming season under the one-year franchise tag contract.
Higgins will still be allowed to negotiate a possible contract extension with other teams even if he is franchise-tagged. However, the Bengals are allowed to match any other team’s offer. If they choose not to match the offer and Higgins signs elsewhere, Cincy will be eligible to receive two first-round draft picks from Higgins’ new team as compensation for losing its franchise-tagged player.
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Can the Bengals afford all three guys?
According to Spotrac, Cincinnati is scheduled to have $44.4 million in cap space this off-season, which means they have $44.4 million to spend on re-signing players, signing draft picks, and acquiring free agents. Based on this number, the Bengals would technically be able to afford to keep all three guys on the roster for at least one more season.
Trey Hendrickson and Ja’Marr Chase’s contracts are already included in Cincy’s total cap space, so Tee Higgins is the only one of the three who currently doesn’t count against the cap. Unfortunately, Higgins would be paid $26.2 million this season if he is franchise-tagged. As a result, Cincy’s cap space would go from $44.4 million (12th-most in the NFL) to $18.2 million (20th in the NFL) if they retain Higgins using the tag.
Though the Bengals could keep all three guys for the 2025 season, that could change next year. In 2026, Chase (who led the NFL in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdown catches) and Hendrickson (who led the NFL in sacks) are scheduled to be free agents. Those two will likely demand lofty contracts, which could limit Cincinnati’s spending capabilities and force them to move on from some key pieces.
If the Bengals manage to sign Hendrickson and Chase to long-term contracts before they are scheduled to become free agents next off-season, then they will probably end up parting ways with Tee Higgins because they won’t have the cap space to sign him to a long-term deal as well.
What does Tee Higgins’ future look like?
With the Bengals hinting at franchise-tagging Higgins for a second straight season, I expect him to return to Cincinnati for at least one more year. After that though, it’s anybody’s game.
Despite likely being franchise-tagged, that doesn’t guarantee he’ll be in a Bengals uniform in 2025. If a team is bold enough, they could send Cincinnati two first-round picks in exchange for Higgins, though I only expect that type of move to come from a team desperate to win right now. Otherwise, it would make more sense to wait the year out, save your draft picks, and sign Higgins to a large deal next off-season.
There are a couple of squads where Higgins would be a good fit, and it would make sense for the team to part with two first-round picks to acquire him.
If the Los Angeles Rams retain quarterback Matthew Stafford, then Higgins could be a great fit out West. The Rams have already said that they plan to move on from wideout Cooper Kupp, so they need to find a productive receiver to replace him and play on the other side of Puka Nacua. Considering Satfford probably only has two years left and Sean McVay is constantly thinking about retiring, it could benefit LA to pull the trigger on Higgins. They’ve shown how open they are to trading away first-round draft picks before, after all. Just look at when they traded for Matthew Stafford.
The Buffalo Bills could be another good landing spot for Higgins. The Bills are in win-now mode and don’t really have the time to develop draft picks since quarterback Josh Allen is entering the prime of his career. I’ve said before that Buffalo needs to make some big moves this off-season if they want to get over the Kansas City Chiefs hump. Acquiring a young number-one wide receiver would be a step in the right direction.
I believe Tee Higgins will play the 2025-26 season for the Cincinnati Bengals. I do think that will be the end of their relationship though, and he will test the free agent market next year.
