The Bengals plan on placing the non-exclusive franchise tag on WR Tee Higgins, according to Sports Illustrated's James Rapien. The non-exclusive tag allows other teams to negotiate with Higgins. But the Bengals would have the right to match any offer -- and would receive two first-round picks from the acquiring team if Higgins leaves. In other words, Higgins is a heavy favorite to be in Cincinnati in 2025. Rapien adds that the Bengals "plan" to sign Higgins to a long-term deal.
We'll see how those those long-term contract negotiations go, but we can at least draft under the assumption that Higgins will be back with the Bengals for 2025.
While that puts a cap on his target upside sharing the field with Ja'Marr Chase, it keeps Higgins in an excellent spot for fantasy production. The Bengals have ranked top seven in pass rate, neutral pass rate, and pass attempts in each of the last three seasons and, of course, are quarterbacked by one of the best in the game.
Durability remains a concern for Higgins, who missed 13 games and parts of a few others over the last four seasons. But he's coming off a WR4 finish in PPR points per game and looks like at least a top-15 fantasy WR heading into 2025.
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