Tee Higgins Contract

[CrashDavisSports]

As expected, it appears Tee is ready to wait until deadline day to sign his 1 year franchise offer and forgo off season camps until then. Nothing unexpected here, but it would be nice if we had our 3rd best player and 4th best players not upset before start of a pivotal season.

Source: Tee Higgins not expected to sign tender before Bengals OTAs

abcnews.go.com

Just impossible at salaries to afford two top tier WR's when your QB is the best player on the team and has the largest annual salary of anyone in the league. I really want to see Hendrickson signed and happy though. We need him, because I worry about our pass rush without that guy.

 

[DanBengalfan]

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[Cincyfan78]

Paul sums up what I've said since Tee was tagged....

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[Cincyfan78]

And honestly - this kind of works out well...not that Chase/Higgins would have played a lot (or at all) in the pre-season, but that just means more snaps for Yoshi, Jones, and Burton...which is a good thing since those are the primary backups with Burton/Jones likely the slot guys. Lots of early reps to get them going for the season, and then you get to add Chase/Higgins to that mix week 1.

 

[cincygrad]

I'm not worried about it. As @Cincyfan78 posted from Dehner - This is the expected path. It was the path with Bates and it is the path most players take when they are tagged. As much as players hate the tag, this is the one perk they get - They don't have to participate in training camp. As far as we know, Tee takes good care of himself during the offseason. He's definitely had some years where he has rebuilt himself, got bigger, or made some other improvements. And the position he plays is much more simple than Chase - We don't move Tee around as much in the offense. So, assuming he is in shape and ready to run the routes he runs, I'm guessing it won't take much time for him to get ready.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I don't think it will happen - but the more these WR salaries continue to climb...I could see where the Bengals would be at least considering a double tag on Tee Higgins. It would still come at a complete bargain. Higgins, no doubt, would likely sit out at that point...but purely from a financial situation - I could see this...

I also think this brings into question the very real possibility that Chase's contract will follow a very similar path as Higgins...and fans better get ready to realize there is a very real possibility that Chase is going to be on the move after his Franchise Tag year...

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[jbuck]

Expert brings up good point about Tee Higgins and Bengals’ WR spot

Something to keep in mind about the Bengals and Tee Higgins.

www.yahoo.com

 

[cincygrad]

I don't think it will happen - but the more these WR salaries continue to climb...I could see where the Bengals would be at least considering a double tag on Tee Higgins. It would still come at a complete bargain. Higgins, no doubt, would likely sit out at that point...but purely from a financial situation - I could see this...

I also think this brings into question the very real possibility that Chase's contract will follow a very similar path as Higgins...and fans better get ready to realize there is a very real possibility that Chase is going to be on the move after his Franchise Tag year...

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The players won't like it, but the Bengals are making good business decisions. The top of the receiver market won't move until JJ signs, but the rung just below has exploded and now teams are paying more than the franchise value (in yearly average) to keep #2 receivers. I mean, does Jaylen Waddle really keep you up late worrying? As we discussed a few months ago, a second tag for a receiver is not bad value. Tee and his agent will flip out and Tee won't have as much financial pressure to sign it (21 million this year will give him a nice cushion), but it wouldn't be bad business.

I still think we'll sign Ja'Marr long term. I think he is one of the only current guys on the roster that we'll give big guaranteed money to.

 

[Cincyfan78]

The players won't like it, but the Bengals are making good business decisions. The top of the receiver market won't move until JJ signs, but the rung just below has exploded and now teams are paying more than the franchise value (in yearly average) to keep #2 receivers. I mean, does Jaylen Waddle really keep you up late worrying? As we discussed a few months ago, a second tag for a receiver is not bad value. Tee and his agent will flip out and Tee won't have as much financial pressure to sign it (21 million this year will give him a nice cushion), but it wouldn't be bad business.

I still think we'll sign Ja'Marr long term. I think he is one of the only current guys on the roster that we'll give big guaranteed money to.

The concern I see for the Bengals, as an ownership group that does not have additional sources of millions of dollars in terms of income like other owners who own large businesses, etc...is the guaranteed portion of contracts. A certain amount is required to be held in escrow to cover the guaranteed portion. One of the fears some have mentioned with the Bengals is their ability to consistently get to the guaranteed amounts that players are starting to get to as they may have limited ability to do so for multiple high-level contracts.

Maybe it is a fear that isn't founded in great reality - but I see the angle they are talking about. Most owners are worth Millions, if not more - outside of owning a team (or with a group owning the team). The Bengals are not in that realm.

I agree that Chase is still more than likely to get a long-term deal - but it will be really interesting to watch Higgins' play out. At some point you can't talk about being a player driven organization and work on a bunch of 1 and 2 year deals. Players want to feel valued and want some kind of stability - and that means deals that are more in the 3-4 year range. Bengals, at some point, are going to have to pony up...but when and how and for who will be up for great debate as we move along. Higgins. Hendrickson. Cappa. Karras. Lots of guys who play integral roles on this team are going to be due soon and are going to force the Bengals to face their current way of signing guys. Going to be really interesting.

 

[DanBengalfan]

WR pay is highly variable in the NFL, there's some teams getting really nice value for what they pay, and others, well, they're paying a lot.