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The Cincinnati Bengals have been a huge disappointment throughout the 2024 NFL season. Cincinnati is 5-8 heading into Week 15 and has fallen well short of their preseason expectations. Many Bengals fans now have one eye on the offseason, which could be filled with plenty of big moves for the team.
There are rumblings in NFL circles that Bengals WR Tee Higgins is pondering an agent change, per ESPN's Dan Graziano. The evidence for this rumor is that Higgins is no longer listed with his previous agent on the official NFLPA website. However he is not yet listed with a new agent.
Graziano notes that this is a big deal because it can indicate that Higgins wants to change his negotiating stance with the Bengals. Cincinnati used the franchise tag on Higgins this offseason after they planned on signing Ja'Marr Chase to a monster contract extension. Now both players still have uncertain futures with the Bengals.
QB Joe Burrow's signed a massive contract extension before the 2023 season. Thankfully, his cap hit does not increase substantially between 2024 and 2025. Therefore, it is still theoretically possible for Cincinnati to get creative and keep Burrow, Higgins, and Chase.
This is an interesting element to consider, but unfortunately Bengals fans simply have to wait for the offseason to see what happens.
Why? Graziano explains that Higgins being on the franchise tag complicates matters. By rule, the Bengals are prohibited from signing him to an extension before the end of the 2024 season. Thankfully for Cincinnati, there is still an opportunity to lock him up before free agency. The Bengals can use the time after the end of the season and before free agency to negotiate with Higgins.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow's confident take after MNF adds fuel to the fire
Joe Burrow's recent comments about Tee Higgins added fuel to this speculation.
After Monday's big win, Burrow dropped a confident take that he is confident that the team will be able to re-sign Higgins this offseason.
Burrow reportedly said he would be willing to do “whatever it takes” to help bring Higgins back to Cincinnati, per The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr..
“Joe Burrow just said he's confident they will be able to find a way to get Tee Higgins back and he's willing to do what it takes,” Dehner tweeted. “Asked why he's confident, offered a sly ‘we'll see.' Wow.”
Higgins has dealt with some injury issues during the 2024 season. This could impact his worth on the open market, making him more valuable to Cincinnati than anyone else. However, it is hard to imagine a team like the Patriots not being seriously interested in signing him.
Higgins has hauled in 45 receptions for 581 yards and five touchdowns this season. He is still a very important part of the Bengals' offense.
It will be interesting to see how this situation unfolds after the conclusion of the 2024 season.
Next up for the Bengals is a Week 15 matchup against the Titans.
