Cincinnati Bengals second-year wideout Andrei Iosivas has big hopes for the future.
The sophomore made that clear in a recent post on social media, but he really drove the point home in recent interviews.
Iosivas brought up the realities of the Tee Higgins situation while discussing his fit in the wideout room.
“I’m hoping I can get the confidence from the coaches,” Iosivas said, according to ESPN’s Ben Baby. “I’m not sure if they can pay Tee. He’ll probably get a lot of money. He’s a really good receiver. Hopefully I can step into that role.”
It’s the type of statement that the Bengals as an organization probably smacks its forehead over a little bit, sure.
But it’s also true.
The Bengals and Higgins are in a standoff over the franchise tag that is nearly identical to the previous Jessie Bates situation and the two sides have until July 15 to reach an extension.
If not, that moves the needle toward Higgins playing the year on that tag and then possibly leaving next summer, with Iosivas being one of the top choices to replace his fit in the base offense.
This much was obvious when the Bengals drafted Iosivas last year, though it’s pretty refreshing to hear a player talk so candidly about it.