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Tee Higgins is going to get paid a lot of money from a team this offseason, but he’s not expected to sign a deal at the very top of the wide-receiver market.
Per ESPN’s Dan Graziano, the sense from some people around the NFL is that Higgins could sign for a deal worth more than Jaylen Waddle in average annual value and more guaranteed money than DeVonta Smith got on his extension from the Philadelphia Eagles.
On the latest episode of The Scoop City podcast (starts at 34:00 mark), The Athletic’s Dianna Russini noted that Higgins “wants to have an answer” for what’s next in his career “very soon” and he doesn’t want things with the Cincinnati Bengals to drag out into the start of free agency.
The $28.25 million average annual salary for Waddle ranks seventh among all receivers. Smith’s total guaranteed money is the ninth-most among all players at the position.
All indications are the Bengals won’t pay to keep Higgins when they also have to extend Ja’Marr Chase. General manager Duke Tobin told Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer on Thursday that “it’s going to be hard” to keep both receivers.
“We feel like we have the resources to do it, but it all depends on how the negotiation goes and whether they’re willing to accept wanting to come back at a number that makes sense for everybody.”
Conway reported last offseason that Cincinnati’s offer to Higgins “never approached” $20 million per season, so the idea the team would suddenly go to $28-29 million annually on a new deal seems hard to fathom.
It’s not like everyone just became aware that Higgins is good and extremely valuable to the Bengals. He averaged more than 1,000 yards and six touchdowns per season in his first three seasons from 2020 to ’22.
Joe Burrow spent a lot of time in the final month of the regular season campaigning for the organization to keep Higgins. The Bengals also have to address their defense, which ranked 25th in points allowed this season, if they want to get back to being a top-tier AFC contender in 2025.
The door for Higgins to return to Cincinnati next season might still be open, but it could close quickly depending on how talks between the two sides go leading up to the start of free agency on March 12.
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