The most important thing Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor discussed Monday at the NFL league meetings in Orlando, Florida, was the injury return timeline of quarterback Joe Burrow.
But the status of franchise-tagged wideout Tee Higgins wasn’t far behind.
Asked about a Higgins update after the trade request, Taylor made it clear he doesn’t think anything of the sort will happen.
“We’re excited for Tee to have a great year for us,” Taylor said, according to Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “We think he’s our best chance to help us win a Super Bowl. I’ve enjoyed working with Tee the last four years; I expect this year to be no different.”
This is the typical Taylor-type response to this situation, though it’s more notable than usual because it follows a recent report that suggested the Bengals are willing to listen to trade offers for Higgins.
Listening is quite different than actually trading, though. The Bengals wouldn’t be doing their due diligence if they didn’t at least evaluate offers, though what they probably want in return is more than other teams will suggest on top of needing to give Higgins a top-of-market extension.
As with Jessie Bates III a couple of years ago, the likeliest solution remains Higgins playing next season on the tag, which is essentially the minimum of what Taylor suggested Monday. The team and Higgins have until mid-July to work out a long-term extension.
