Bengals place franchise tag on wide receiver Tee Higgins

Star NFL wide receiver Tee Higgins is staying in Cincinnati.

Higgins took to social media on Monday, simply posting the word "tag," to confirm the Bengals placed the franchise tag on him for the second consecutive off-season.

Had Cincinnati not made the procedural move, Higgins would've been one of the top free agent receivers on the market.

He will make $26.16million in 2025 if he plays the season on the tag, though there is a chance he and the Bengals can work out a long-term deal.

tag.

— Tee Higgins⁵ (@teehiggins5) March 3, 2025

The decision to tag Higgins comes after Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin said last Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine that the team plans to make All-Pro receiver Ja'Marr Chase the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL.

Higgins and Chase form one of the best wide receiver tandems in the league, as they are paired with two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow.

Higgins, 26, has never been named to a Pro Bowl, but is widely considered one of the league's better receivers since the Bengals selected him with the 33rd overall pick of the 2020 NFL draft.

He had 73 receptions for 911 yards and was tied for sixth in the league with 10 touchdown catches in just 12 games last season. Among the 79 players with at least 50 receptions in 2024, his average of 75.9 receiving yards per game ranked 10th.

In 70 games in his five-year career, Higgins has 330 receptions for 4,595 yards with his 34 TD grabs tied for 14th in the league among all players since his 2020 rookie season.