{"id":217615,"date":"2025-02-17T16:17:48","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T21:17:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=217615"},"modified":"2025-02-17T16:17:48","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T21:17:48","slug":"tee-higgins-could-still-leave-cincinnati-bengals-despite-franchise-tag-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/02\/17\/tee-higgins-could-still-leave-cincinnati-bengals-despite-franchise-tag-report\/","title":{"rendered":"How Tee Higgins Could Still Leave the Bengals Despite Franchise Tag News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wide receiver Tee Higgins will reportedly not reach free agency, as\u00a0Sports Illustrated<\/em>‘s James Rapien<\/a> reports that the Bengals will use the franchise tag to retain their homegrown star for another season. Selected in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft<\/a>, Higgins has quickly established himself as one of the game’s better playmakers, blessed with the elite size and speed to consistently make plays downfield.<\/p>\n

Higgins would be the best receiver on most NFL rosters, but he’s the clear WR2 on the Bengals. Superstar Ja’Marr Chase is due for a massive contract extension of his own and the team already handed out a then-record contract to quarterback Joe Burrow<\/a>. There’s only so much money, and prior to Rapien’s report, most believed Higgins would be the odd man out.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the Bengals use the franchise tag to extend the negotiation window for Tee Higgins. However, it’s more likely the team is using this as a glorified trade tool. Cincinnati must get creative to pay all three offensive weapons without compromising their ability to build a well-rounded roster, but they don’t want to let Higgins leave for nothing. By using the franchise tag, they could trade the wide receiver to any of the following five teams, who would happily give up a draft pick to secure one of the game’s better playmakers.<\/p>\n

Bengals Could Use Franchise Tag to Trade Tee Higgins<\/h2>\n

Possible Destinations<\/h3>\n

Los Angeles Chargers<\/h4>\n

The Los Angeles Chargers need a wide receiver in the worst way. While second-round pick Ladd McConkey<\/a> looks like the real deal, he’s the only reliable set of hands on the team. Head coach Jim Harbaugh<\/a> prefers to win games on the ground, but he knows these receivers aren’t good enough. After all, he tried to acquire Diontae Johnson at multiple points in the season, so he should reach for a star in free agency. Armed with over $63 million in cap space<\/a>, the Chargers have to money to trade for Tee Higgins on the franchise tag and still address other needs on the roster.<\/p>\n

New England Patriots<\/h4>\n

The New England Patriots have a promising young quarterback in UNC’s Drake Maye<\/a>. Now, they must provide an adequate supporting cast to ensure he becomes a legitimate franchise quarterback. Kayshon Boutte, Demario Douglas, and Kendrick Bourne are not starting-caliber receivers, and Higgins’ ability to stretch the field should mesh perfectly with Maye’s rocket arm and downfield accuracy.<\/p>\n

Washington Commanders<\/h4>\n

The Washington Commanders have the biggest competitive advantage in football: an elite quarterback on a rookie contract<\/a>. Jayden Daniels took over a 4-13 football team and guided them to the NFC Championship in Year 1, so imagine what he can do with more experience and an improved supporting cast. Daniels’ contract gives the team financial flexibility, as the Commanders can easily absorb Tee Higgins on the franchise tag and add to their talented roster.<\/p>\n

Carolina Panthers<\/h4>\n

The Carolina Panthers have three promising young playmakers in Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker, and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders. However, what they don’t have is a proven star. None of the youngsters appear destined for greatness, and Adam Thielen is running out of gas. First-overall pick Bryce Young<\/a> played up to his draft capital last year, and adding Higgins to the equation will only increase his odds of being the long-awaited heir to Cam Newton.<\/p>\n

Chicago Bears<\/h4>\n

Caleb Williams didn’t have the same dominant rookie year as Jayden Daniels, but the future is still bright for the USC product. Paired with an offensive genius in Ben Johnson<\/a> and two reliable receivers in D.J. Moore and fellow 2024 draftee Rome Odunze, Williams should have a good year in 2025. However, he could have a great one if Chicago lands a proven star in Tee Higgins. These three weapons should give the Bears enough firepower to compete in a loaded NFC North.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Sam Greene – Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Cincinnati Bengals will reportedly use the franchise tag on Tee Higgins, but the wide receiver could still leave the team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":217621,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[7642,7725,7661,6178],"class_list":["post-217615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bengals","tag-chargers-featured","tag-cincinnati-bengals-news","tag-panthers-featured","tag-tee-higgins"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217615"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":217622,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217615\/revisions\/217622"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}