There could be another reason the Cincinnati Bengals applied the franchise tag to Tee Higgins besides wanting to keep their star-studded wide receiver corps around for the 2024 season. Quarterback Joe Burrow would have a much easier time next season with Higgns and Ja’Marr Chase.
The Cincinnati Bengals tagged Higgins last week
When the Bengals applied the franchise tag to Higgins last week, many fans and analysts assumed the team planned to keep Higgins around for the 2024 season instead of letting him hit free agency. They might have kept Higgins from hitting free agency, but it is very much yet to be determined if he will finish the 2024 season in Cincinnati.
Tee Higgins might not play for the Bengals in 2024
Per Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler with ESPN, the buzz around the NFL Combine was that the Bengals tagged Higgins early, so the team had time to shop him around before free agency:
“A lot of people in Indy seemed to think the reason the Bengals franchised Tee Higgins as early as they did was so they could trade him. With a Ja’Marr Chase extension likely coming this offseason or next, Cincinnati might not be able to keep the band together around Joe Burrow much longer.”
