The Cincinnati Bengals have floated the idea of franchise tagging Tee Higgins. While that may seem like a stop-gap to appease Joe Burrow, it could be out of selfishness for the Bengals front office. Burrow has been clear about what he wants the front office to do when it comes to retaining both Ja’Marr Chase and Higgins.

The most prominent example right now is ESPN’s Aaron Schatz, whose set of bold offseason projections has the Buffalo Bills blowing the Bengals “out of the water” with a Higgins trade offer:

“Obviously, we want to build something here in Cinci, but it’s not in my hands right now,” Higgins said, via Joe Danneman of FOX19 Cincinnati. “So, I’ve got to do what I need to do. If that’s go to another team, then that’s what happens.”

The franchise tag window opens on Tuesday, February 18 and lasts until Tuesday, March 4. That means the Bengals will have two weeks to make a decision on Higgins. They used the tag on the star wide receiver early in the process last season. We'll see if they go that route again this year.

The Bengals are focused on signing Tee Higgins to a long-term deal, something Joe Burrow has publicly campaigned. But the team “likely” will use the franchise tag on the wide receiver for a second consecutive offseason if it can’t get a contract agreement by the March 4 deadline, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports.

Cincinnati will likely bring back their star receiver, but with all of their needs the team should think trade this offseason.

Most Cincinnati Bengals trade projections that include Tee Higgins fall flat because the team just won't do it. Those Bengals value their own far too much and when in an actual standoff, well, fans re

The Cincinnati Bengals could very well decide to franchise tag star wide receiver Tee Higgins in hopes of retaining him for at least one more season. Higgins agrees to play under it in an ideal world,