The Cincinnati Bengals applied the franchise tag to wide receiver Tee Higgins earlier than expected.
At the time, we noted that it might signal a trade could happen, strictly because the Bengals made sure to do it right before the scouting combine, where they would brush shoulders with 31 other teams that might have an interest.
Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin, however, said that the quick tag was simply a result of the salary cap’s dramatic jump.
But ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler have noted that some of the buzz around the league at the combine is that the early tag means the Bengals are open for business:
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.
It’s important to note that the Bengals can likely afford to pay Higgins and Chase at the same time, especially as Joe Burrow’s deal will likely end up restructured in future years to save future cap space.
If a Higgins trade does happen, it will be more because they want something in return for losing him because a long-term deal isn’t feasible. With the way they’ve been active in free agency over the last few years, they probably won’t get a compensatory pick if they lose him in free agency — which is what happened with Jessie Bates.
The league is right to think the Bengals put this all on the table and made the tag official before the big gathering of teams — because why wouldn’t they? But the most likely scenario remains that Higgins will be in Cincinnati for at least one more year. The team and Higgins have a July 15 deadline to work out a long-term extension, or he will play next season on the tag.
