The Cincinnati Bengals have informed wideout Tee Higgins that he will receive the franchise tag.
That news came somewhat earlier than expected. The Bengals had until March 5 to apply the tag, and conventional wisdom seemed to suggest there wasn’t a reason for them to rush applying it.
That is, unless something happened during negotiations on a contract extension that we aren’t privy to, or the front office wants to tell teams that they’re open for business.
It’s pretty hard to imagine the Bengals would steer away from their conservative nature and not fully use that additional year of control to keep Higgins with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase for another championship push.
But the early tag does finalize things. It leaves other teams no doubt about where things are headed — and it just so happens to arrive well before the scouting combine next week, where Bengals brass will attend and brush shoulders with the front offices of 31 other teams.
The mechanics of a tag-and-trade are complicated but boil down to this: Other teams can make offers and the Bengals can accept. But only if he’s actually signed the tag, which he doesn’t have to, especially if he doesn’t like the trade destination. If he does sign, the $21.8 million comes out of their cap space right away, which impacts free agency.
Tag-and-trades are extremely rare, with Davante Adams fetching the Packers one first-round pick and a second-rounder from the Raiders as a recent example. But Higgins isn’t going to net the Bengals that sort of return after struggling to stay healthy and with a very strong draft class coming up.
That doesn’t mean a tag-and-trade won’t happen, especially with the timing here so interesting. Now that the Bengals have made clear their intention, both sides have until July 15 to reach an extension.
So, while a trade can happen, the early tag shouldn’t knock fans off the expectation that Higgins will be back in Cincinnati for at least one more year. It still very much feels like the situation with Jessie Bates III and even involves the same agent. Joe Burrow wants Higgins back, and it’s smart business to use the tag while keeping the contention window open, provided a offer too good to refuse doesn’t hit Cincinnati’s desk at the combine.
