Tee Higgins wants to stay with the Bengals

Wide receiver Tee Higgins is not under contract with the Bengals. The team squatted on its rights with the franchise label. Higgins wants a long-term deal. He reportedly asked to be traded.

He also said he wants to stay with the Bengals. Appearing on the I am an athlete podcast (via James Rapien of SI.com), Higgins made it clear that he would like to continue playing for the Bengals.

“As for the return, I would love to come back“, Higgins said. “I’ve grown as a man over the last four years here. I’ve grown as a player, I’ve created myself – I’ve made some good new friendships. Great relationships with the people that are not in the establishment, in the city of Cincinnati, the fans are great so I would definitely love to be here. But if it’s not, then it’s not.

The episode was released on Wednesday. It is not known when it was recorded. (He’s referring, for example, to handing over his iPad to the Bengals. That likely would have happened at the end of the 2023 season.)

The Bengals have a long history of not signing franchise players to long-term deals. Typically, the player plays under the tag for a year, then the tag is not applied a second time.

Higgins can skip the offseason program, training camp and the entire preseason without consequence. He can show up literally days before the regular season starts and collect his full $21.8 million franchise tender.

The only risk is that the Bengals cancel it. Then Higgins would become a free agent, long after the big money had been paid and depth charts had been drawn up. This rarely happens, but it’s not impossible.

Some would say Higgins should come out and prepare to have a big season in what will be a contract year. Others would say he doesn’t really need to do that. That he has done enough in four seasons to qualify for a major contract, if he becomes a free agent in March 2025.

Either way, the Bengals likely won’t offer Higgins a long-term deal. He’ll have to decide at some point whether to come forward and collect his $21.8 million if the Bengals don’t give him an acceptable long-term contract before the July 15 deadline.