It’s official: Bengals receiver Tee Higgins will play 2024 under the franchise tag.
Monday’s deadline passed for players who received the franchise tag to sign a long-term deal, and Higgins will be the lone NFL player to play this season on the tag.
He signed his franchise tag last month, guaranteeing him $21.816 million this season.
Higgins is scheduled to become a free agent in 2025, and the Bengals likely let him walk as No. 1 receiver Ja’Marr Chase also is seeking a contract extension.
Jaguars edge rusher Joshua Hines-Allen, Ravens defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson and Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. all signed long-term deals after being tagged, while Giants edge rusher Brian Burns and Titans cornerback L’Jarius Sneed signed new deals after being traded from their former teams.
Patriots safety Kyle Dugger, the only transition tag recipient, also signed a long-term deal.
Higgins needs a big year after catching only 42 of 77 targets for 656 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games last season as a rib injury and a hamstring issue slowed him.
Monday is the deadline for players who received franchise tags to sign long-term deals with their teams and it looks like it will pass without wide receiver Tee Higgins extending his stay with the Bengals.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Higgins will not sign a multi-year deal with the team. Higgins signed his franchise tag last month and is guaranteed $21.816 million under the terms of the tag.
Assuming that turns out to be the case, Higgins will be the only player who will play out the year on a tag. Jaguars edge rusher Joshua Hines-Allen, Ravens defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson, and Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. all signed long-term deals while Giants edge rusher Brian Burns and Titans cornerback L’Jarius Sneed signed new deals after being traded to their new clubs.
Patriots safety Kyle Dugger was the lone transition tag recipient and he also signed a long-term deal.
No deal would put Higgins on track to become a free agent after the 2024 season. With fellow wideout Ja’Marr Chase also up for a new contract, that might mean the coming season is the last one Higgins will spend in Cincinnati.
Joe Burrow’s focus for 2024 is on playing quarterback for the Bengals, but there may be room for other things come 2028.
That is when flag football will become an event at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and Burrow said on Pardon My Take this week that he wouldn’t mind being part of the United States team. Burrow suggested he’d also try to get former LSU teammate Justin Jefferson back in an offense with him and Ja’Marr Chase.
“I really want to play for the Olympic flag football team,” Burrow said. “Like Me, Ja’marr, Justin, Me and my friends out there playing football. . . . I think it’d be really cool.”
Burrow added that it would be “embarrassing” for the United States to not win the gold medal the first time that flag football is played on an Olympic level. It’s not clear at this point whether he’ll actually be involved in making sure that doesn’t happen, but having NFLers on the field would be a good one to improve the chances of taking the prize.
Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt is undeniably one of the league’s best edge defenders. But he also presents a distinctive challenge to quarterbacks when it comes to the pass game.
Entering his eighth season, Watt has seven career interceptions — two of which have come off of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. In an interview with the Pardon My Take podcast, Burrow noted what makes Watt so difficult to play against.
“Yeah, I can definitely feel [him],” Burrow said. “T.J. is a unique player in this league. There’s no other defensive lineman that I have to treat like a DB. I have to be conscious about where he’s at because he’s just going to jump up and catch it. And there’s nobody else who can do that.
“You have to be alert for him in the pass game, which is very unique, I would say.”
Watt finished second in AP defensive player of the year voting in 2023 after registering 19.0 sacks, 19 tackles for loss, 36 quarterback hits, eight passes defensed, and one interception. The 2017 first-round pick has 12.0 sacks, seven passes defensed, and two picks off of Bengals quarterbacks in his career.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has spent more time in front of a piano than under center since hurting his wrist during the 2023 season and he thinks his time out of the spotlight has had an impact on how he’s viewed in the NFL.
During an appearance on Pardon My Take, Burrow was asked about how he stacks up with other top quarterbacks in the league. Burrow said “time will tell” before the discussion moved into whether people have forgotten how good he is because of how much time he missed last year.
Burrow agreed with that assessment and said that he’s planning to offer a strong reminder about what he can do come the fall.
“I believe that,” Burrow said. “That’s what happens when you get hurt, though. You don’t play football, people forget about you. . . . If you’re not out there and people aren’t watching you, then there’s nothing to talk about. I’m going to give people something to talk about this year. I’m excited about it.”
Injuries have been the only thing to really slow Burrow down since he entered the NFL, which is why he’s prioritizing availability heading into the 2024 season.
