There have been no shortage of Tennessee Titans fans who want to see their team sign Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins.
Higgins would fill a major need for the Titans, and he has a connection to Titans head coach Brian Callahan, who was his former offensive coordinator.
Unfortunately, signing Higgins outright won’t be possible, as the Bengals have informed the wideout that he will be getting the franchise tag, which was expected, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The price of a franchise tag for a wide receiver this year is $21.8 million, per Over the Cap.
While Rapoport didn’t say specifically which tag it will be, Higgins will almost certainly get the non-exclusive one, which would allow him to negotiate with other teams but still give the Bengals the right to match.
If Higgins signs an offer sheet with another team and the Bengals decide it’s too rich for their blood, they would receive two first-round picks from the team signing him.
As much as I like Higgins as a player, no team — and especially a rebuilding team like the Titans — will be willing to pay such a steep price in draft capital on top of having to pay him handsomely.
That means the best way to wrestle Higgins away from Cincinnati would be to trade for him, which would cost less in draft capital than the offer sheet route.
Based on his past production, a second-round pick is fair compensation, but the Bengals could ask for more — possibly a first-round pick — if they aren’t completely intent on dealing him.
After all, Cincinnati doesn’t have to trade him and can simply run it back for another year on the tag (and they can tag him again in 2025), or extend him, something they have the funds to do with $51 million in cap space.
However, the caveat with an extension is that the Bengals are facing having to sign Ja’Marr Chase to a massive deal of his own and the team may not want to invest all that money in two wide receivers, even though they technically have the ability to do so.
If Higgins is indeed available, I wouldn’t go higher than a second-round pick for his services and certainly wouldn’t be willing to give up a first-rounder, especially when you consider the Titans could be picking high in the first round the next few years as they rebuild.
While Higgins ending up in Nashville certainly isn’t impossible, the chances of that happening took a major hit once Cincinnati slapped the franchise tag on its talented No. 2 receiver.
