CINCINNATI — If Tee Higgins does have just one more season with the Cincinnati Bengals, he wants to make the most of it.
The 25-year-old receiver said he thought it better to sign his franchise tender, play well for all to see and try one more time to win a Super Bowl with the team that drafted him in 2020.
“You know, we’ve been close the past few years, and I just feel like I’m a piece of the puzzle that can help us get there,” Higgins said. “I want to win one with my guys I came in with, and that’s what I’m looking forward to doing.”
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Unable to reach a long-term deal with the Bengals, Higgins ended up with the franchise tag, which keeps him in Cincinnati for the season before he's eligible for free agency. He'll make $21.8 million, the designated franchise salary for receivers — more than twice what he made in his first four seasons in the league put together.
“There was a lot of talk back and forth with my agent, what I wanted to do,” Higgins said this week. “Obviously, the Bengals weren’t making any moves other than tagging me.
“But it was just like, I grew up with nothing. At the end of the day, $21.8 (million), that’s life-changing money, you know what I’m saying?” Higgins said. "I could live with that for the rest of my life if I wanted to, but obviously I wanted more, and it didn’t happen. I made the decision (to) sign and be here with my guys.”
Higgins, in his fifth season, was an odd man out when it came to scoring a rich second contract with Cincinnati.
The Bengals made quarterback Joe Burrow the highest-paid player in the NFL with a five-year, $275 million deal before last season. They'll almost certainly give No. 1 receiver Ja'Marr Chase a new deal in the neighborhood of Justin Jefferson's four-year, $140-million pact with the Minnesota Vikings.
The Bengals aren't prepared to splash out on anybody else.
“It just didn’t come together,” said Duke Tobin, Cincinnati's director of player personnel. "I don’t fault anybody on that. It’s got to work for us, and it has to work for them and sometimes that collides with each other and sometimes it misses. And we accept that, and he accepts that. I think his best chance for a great season is with the Cincinnati Bengals, and we’re happy he’s going to be here.”
A second-round draft pick in 2020 — Burrow was the top overall pick in that draft — Higgins has 257 catches for 3,684 yards and 24 touchdowns, including back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2021 and ’22. He was a key part of the Bengals' drive to the Super Bowl after the 2021 season.
He finished with 656 yards and five TDs last season while struggling with a rib injury.
“I think he’s going about it the right way,” Burrow said. "His business is his business, but I know that he’s a football player at heart.”
