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.

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

While the Cincinnati Bengals may very well exercise the franchise tag on star wide receiver Tee Higgins for the second offseason in a row, a trade to the New England Patriots is not out of the realm of possibility either.