Bengals' Tee Higgins: Franchise tagged again

Higgins (ankle) announced Monday via his personal social media accounts that the Bengals have informed him he will receive the franchise tag.

Cincinnati will place the franchise tag on Higgins for a second consecutive offseason, positioning him to play out the 2025 campaign on a one-year, $26.17 million contract unless both sides can reach agreement on a long-term extension by July 15. The move prevents Higgins from hitting free agency at the start of the new league year next week, as he would have been arguably the top available player on the open market. The Bengals have expressed a commitment in retaining the 26-year-old wideout via a long-term deal, motivated no doubt in part by Joe Burrow's public statements that he desires Higgins, Ja'Marr Chaseand pass rusher Trey Hendrickson kept together as a headline trio. Higgins posted a 73-911-10 receiving line despite playing just 12 regular-season games in 2024.