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Cincinnati Bengals fans are at a crossroads with their wide receiver group. The super trio composed of Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd has already been broken by the latter moving to the Tennessee Titans, and Higgins, who's playing in a franchise tag, will be a free agent after the 2024 season.
Every bit of movement that could lead Higgins to stay with the team for 2025 and beyond has been explored by the Bengals fans, and one of the most significant regarding a contract negotiation happens when a player switches agents. So a recent Instagram post had Cincinnati fans excited:
CAA football, a division of CAA that represents many football players, made an Instagram post that highlighted some great performances. Higgins' numbers in Week 6 were present on the post; Bengals fans hoped that this could be a signal that he switched agencies to CAA and it would bring a fresh breath of air to his negotiations with the team.
But it was all a false dawn. According to Bengals insider James Rapien, from Sports Illustrated, there has been no change of agency for Higgins, who continues to be represented by David Mulugheta of Athlete's First. Although CAA represents him in marketing deals, Mulugheta always handles the player/contract stuff.
How much cap space the Bengals have in 2025? Is it possible to keep Tee Higgins?
As of today, Cincinnati has $67.17 million available in their salary cap for next season, according to specialized website Spotrac. In theory, there's more than enough money to afford Higgins' cap hit in case he signs a new deal. But that's not as simple.
Ja'Marr Chase is also due a new contract, and he has already sat through the entire offseason as talks of a new deal with the team broke deal. While Higgins is a good receiver, Chase is part of the elite of the league; he would certainly demand a lot of money, just like Higgins will do.
It's not impossible to afford both receivers, but some salary cap wizardry would have to be made. The most likely outcome remains Higgins playing for another franchise in 2025, as the franchise tag is too expensive to use for two straight years.
