The Bengals have Joe Burrow signed to the second-most lucrative quarterback deal, and Chase is playing his way toward a contract that will likely eclipse Jefferson’s $35M-per-year pact. The Bengals have not seriously negotiated with Higgins since the first half of 2023, and in becoming the only team to tag a player this year and not extend him, they cannot reenter talks with their No. 2 wideout until season’s end.
Signs point Higgins out of town, but Burrow said he will make a strong effort to see that his most experienced receiver stays. This could set up an interesting showdown, as the star quarterback obviously could wield significant influence in this matter and others involving personnel if he so chose.
“Those discussions are ongoing,” Burrow said, via ESPN.com’s Ben Baby, of a post-2024 future with Higgins. “I’m confident that I think we’re going to do what it takes to bring Tee back. I know that I’m going to do what it takes to get him back and so is he. We’ve had those talks. Those are going to be offseason discussions. But I think we’re excited about that opportunity.”
NFL rules prohibit Bengals brass from negotiating with Higgins, but Burrow can certainly lobby his five-year teammate to stay. That will be difficult to pull off, however. The Bengals’ Chase-over-Higgins preference in terms of extension priority has long been known, with the former’s All-Pro-level season only reinforcing that stance. Higgins, 25, also will not be likely to accept a hometown discount. The Bengals kept him out of free agency this year via the franchise tag, and if the team passes on a 2025 tag (as the early rumors indicated it would), the bet will be Higgins defects not long after the legal tampering period begins.
Higgins did say he will factor in his relationship with Burrow and the Bengals, but the team made him a lowball offer in 2023 — a deal not believed to be close to $20M on average. It will take more than $20M per year for a team to land the former second-round pick in free agency.
“Like y’all said, this could be my last season [with the Bengals], so I definitely appreciated it, for sure,” Higgins said of playing another nationally televised game with Burrow and Co. “I love those guys to death. … The relationships are more important. Financially, that’s going to come.”
Higgins’ 58.9 yards-per-game number is in line with what he averaged during his most recent 1,000-yard season (2022), when he posted 59.6 per contest. But injury trouble took him off the field for five games, keeping his yardage total at 581 through 13 games. Higgins will also follow Packers wideout Christian Watson‘s lead in going through a study to determine the cause of his recent soft-tissue injury trouble, Baby adds. Higgins trudged through hamstring issues as a rookie and then missed time in 2023 and ’24. Higgins suffered hamstring and quadriceps injuries during separate practices this season, sidelining him for five games in total.
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