New England Patriots

Bengals exec gives interesting update on Tee Higgins' future

The Bengals have a busy offseason ahead of them.

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Phil Perry shares his strategy for how the Patriots should address their biggest needs this offseason, and who his top 5 player Wishlist is.

In a perfect scenario for the Cincinnati Bengals, they would work out contract extensions with wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins and keep them with elite quarterback Joe Burrow for a long time.

But the NFL is a business, and paying everyone what they deserve in a salary cap system can be a challenge.

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Chase is the best wideout in the league, and he just completed the pass-catching triple crown by leading all receivers in receptions (127), yards (1,708) and touchdowns (17) this past season. His next contract will be a massive one.

Higgins isn't on Chase's level, but he's pretty damn good himself. He tallied 73 receptions for 911 yards and a career-high 10 touchdowns in 12 games during the 2024 campaign. He dominated the Denver Broncos in a must-win Week 16 matchup, catching 11 passes for 131 yards and three touchdowns.

The Bengals already gave Burrow a massive extension. Now they need to re-sign other important players such as Chase and Higgins. Star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson isn't eligible for free agency until 2026, but working out an extension for him would make sense, too. The Bengals have around $46 million in salary cap space, per OverTheCap.

Bengals director of personnel Duke Tobin did a 1-on-1 interview with Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer at the Senior Bowl this week, and she asked him about the chances of keeping Chase and Higgins together.

"It's going to be hard," Tobin told Conway. "We feel like we have the resources to do it, but it all depends on how the negotiation goes and whether they're willing to accept wanting to come back at a number that makes sense for everybody.

"... I've always been very upfront in my desire to have Tee Higgins on our team. I've never not been upfront about that, and that desire continues, but we have to be able to come together with his representation on what that means and what the right number is for his experience, for his play time, for his production.

"And let's find something that works for everybody, because he is a guy that we want to have here, and hopefully that can come together, but we have other guys who are trying to take big bites of the apple in other areas, and we're going to have to balance those as we go forward."

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Higgins is the best wide receiver who can become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. And it's not really close, either. He's the most talented player in the group and he's also younger than most of them, too.

The New England Patriots have the most salary cap space in the league -- around $120 million -- and one of their primary roster needs to address this offseason is the lack of a true No. 1 wide receiver. They have to surround rookie quarterback Drake Maye with more high-end talent at the skill positions.

Higgins is good enough to be a No. 1 wideout, and the Patriots would be wise to pursue him. But he would have to reach free agency first. So now it's up to the Bengals to try to get a deal done before free agency starts in March.

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