Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins revealed that the team had officially placed a franchise tag on him for the second consecutive offseason in a post shared on his X account Monday (March 3).
"Tag," Higgins wrote, which was confirmed by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport shortly after.
"The #Bengals have, in fact, franchise tagged WR Tee Higgins a second time, per @teehiggins5. No surprise, as Cincy is not in the business of letting good players walk away. They’ll hope to do a long-term deal after the more than $26M tag," Rapoport wrote on his X account.
Rapoport added that Cincinnati was prioritizing signing Higgins, as well as primary wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase and defensive end Trey Hendrickson to long-term deals.
"The #Bengals have been clear about their priorities — Lock in Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson. The hope is this is a place holder for a long-term deal," Rapoport wrote.
Last month, Sports Illustrated's James Rapien reported that the Bengals were expected to franchise tag Higgins for the second consecutive offseason during the tag window period for NFL teams, which runs from February 18 to March 4. Higgins was reported to have expected to get tagged again, which will stop him from hitting the free agent market as one of the top targets at his position.
The two sides had less dialogue on a long-term contract last offseason and Higgins was the only player to be tagged that didn't ultimately receive a multi-year extension prior to the season. Higgins has since changed agents, signing with Rocky Arceneaux and Caitlin Aoki of Alliance Sports, which play a vital role in potential negotiations.