CINCINNATI — With the result feeling inevitable, Cincinnati Bengals vast receiver Tee Higgins stated there wasn’t a necessity for him to attend to signal his franchise tag.
Talking for the primary time since he accepted a one-year deal in June, Higgins stated he knocked it out effectively earlier than the primary coaching camp apply Wednesday as a result of he did not need hypothesis concerning the upcoming season to linger.
“Clearly there wasn’t no strikes being made upstairs,” stated Higgins, who participated in his first group apply since final season. “So I just about knew this [is] what it was and I used to be similar to, ‘I will go forward and simply signal it and simply kill all of the noise and simply get all people off my again.'”
Earlier than the beginning of free company in March, Higgins requested a commerce after a long-term deal in Cincinnati continued to look unlikely. He stated he was critical about that request when it was made after he ended final season with hopes of being within the Bengals’ long-term plans.
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Cincinnati gave him the franchise tag, which is totally assured for $21.8 million. The 2 sides didn’t come to phrases on an extension earlier than the July 15 deadline, which implies they can not negotiate a multiyear deal till after the common season.
On the group’s media luncheon, group president Mike Brown stated a deal could not be made due to constraints below the wage cap.
“We actually like Tee Higgins,” Brown stated in his lone scheduled media look of the 12 months. “We’d want to signal him, but it surely must be at a sure stage to suit inside the cap or it could actually’t be performed.”
Higgins stated he was content material with how issues performed out.
“It is simply good to not see my identify on the headlines, what I am saying?” Higgins stated. “It is simply good to get it performed simply so I might give attention to myself.”
A fifth-year participant out of Clemson, Higgins battled accidents final season and appeared in simply 12 video games, ending with profession lows in receiving yards (656) and catches (42).
Requested if he thought of prioritizing his well being over the danger of enjoying, Higgins stated it was “clearly” going to be a thought, given his scenario.
“However I am a man that likes to work on the finish of the day,” Higgins stated. “I’ve simply obtained to remain wholesome this 12 months. So long as I am wholesome, I am good.”
Regardless of Higgins’ presence Wednesday, the Bengals had been nonetheless with out one in every of their main playmakers.
Vast receiver Ja’Marr Chase didn’t take part in any portion of Wednesday’s apply. He missed the entire group’s voluntary exercises and did not take part in something except for the walkthrough durations of the group’s necessary minicamp in June.
Chase, who has made the Professional Bowl the previous three years, is on the lookout for a contract extension as he enters the fourth 12 months of his rookie deal. His former school teammate, Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson, acquired the richest deal for a non-quarterback in league historical past in June, signing a deal value $140 million, together with $110 million in assured cash.
Throughout his information convention Monday, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who additionally performed with Jefferson and Chase at LSU, stated he has had non-public discussions with Chase. Whereas the timeline for Chase to return is unclear, he is aware of what to anticipate when Chase is able to apply.
“I am not completely positive what his plan is at this level, however I do know he is with us 100%,” Burrow stated. “When he is prepared to come back again on the market and apply, we’ll be able to have him. And I do know that he’ll be bodily and mentally prepared.”
