Contract Terms
The Cincinnati Bengals have placed the franchise tag on wide receiver Tee Higgins for a second straight year.
Higgins announced the news on X.
tag.
— Tee Higgins? (@teehiggins5) March 3, 2025
In their announcement, the Bengals state that they intend to continue to work with Higgins "toward a long-term deal in Cincinnati."
Higgins' franchise tender will pay him $26.2 million for the 2025 season if he's unable to agree to a long-term contract by the July 15 deadline for such deals.
Fantasy Football Impact
We've heard it since the day the 2024 season ended. Quarterback Joe Burrow made no secret that he wanted Higgins to remain with the club. Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin foreshadowed this move at the NFL Scouting Combine last week, but he also maintains the preference is to sign Higgins to a long-term contract.
As ESPN.com's Ben Baby noted, Higgins has played an integral role in helping shift the Bengals from the worst team in the NFL into a championship contender. It's helped Higgins, too. In his five seasons in Cincinnati, he's been one of the league's most productive receivers. During his time there, Higgins ranks 18th in total receiving yards (4,595) and 14th in touchdowns (34).
The 26-year-old has battled injury issues in recent years. Higgins has played in 12 games in each of the last two seasons. Baby pointed out that several of those injuries have been soft-tissue problems, which the wideout said he planned to address this offseason. Even with the missed time last year, Higgins hauled in a career-high 10 touchdown receptions to go with 73 catches for 911 yards.
Meanwhile, the Bengals must work out a new contract for Ja'Marr Chase. Having clarity on Higgins' contract -- whether with the tag or if they quickly get a long-term deal in place -- will make it easier to work out what's sure to be a record-setting payday for Chase.
Having both players on the field for the 2025 season is an ideal outcome for fantasy investors.
Chase is coming off a monster 2024 campaign that saw him score 40-plus points three times, including one game with 55.4 points -- the highest score for any player last season. Even with Chase averaging a league-high 23.7 points per game, Higgins still finished with the fourth-highest average among all fantasy receivers, tied with Justin Jefferson and Amon-Ra St. Brown at 18.7 points per game.
Thanks largely to their success, Burrow was QB2 through Week 18 with 22.5 points per game.
Their consistent success as a group isn't lost on the Footballguys' projections team. Higgins opens the year as WR16 on our 2025 Player Projections. Chase is WR1, and Burrow is QB5.
Other Fantasy Football Fallout
As NFL Network's Ian Rapoport suggested, with Higgins tagged again, Tampa Bay's Chris Godwin will become the top WR available in free agency.
Providence Journal staffer Mark Daniels is reporting that the Patriots will have an interest in Godwin, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury against the Ravens in Week 7 last year, if his medicals check out.
It's worth noting the 19.7 points per game Godwin averaged in his seven healthy contests last year were second to Chase.
Stock Watch
Risers
Fallers
None
Overview
After drawing the franchise tag a second-straight year, Tee Higgins is once again locked into Cincinnati's high-powered offense with Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase -- a spot that allowed Higgins to haul in 73 catches for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns in just 12 games last year. Higgins, WR16 on the initial Footballguys 2025 Projections, will be drafted as a WR2, likely in the late second or early third round.
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