NFL Salary Cap Analyst Surprised Tee Higgins Signed Franchise Tender Before Training Camp

CINCINNATI — Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins decided to sign the franchise tender over the weekend and is expected report for training camp on time. It's a surprising move for the 25-year-old.

He was always expected to sign the tender, but doing so before training camp is rare for a player that is going to play on the franchise tag.

Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com was surprise Higgins signed this early.

"I have no idea. Usually in those kinda spots you would just hold out of all of training camp," Fitzgerald said on the Ross Tucker Podcast. "To sign it, that's kinda surprising. I doubt there's anything on the horizon. Doesn't sound like there's anything on the horizon."

The Bengals took Higgins in the second round (33rd overall) in the 2020 NFL Draft. He helped Cincinnati win two AFC North titles and an AFC Championship in 2021 and 2022, respectively. He helped them make back-to-back AFC Championship Games in 2021 and 2022. Higgins has 257 receptions for 3,684 yards and 24 touchdowns in 58 career games.

"Maybe he's just resigned to the fact that 'I'm gonna be playing with them so I may as well just do whatever I can to make sure I'm still a big part of this offense and I can put up big numbers and they let me walk next year,'" Fitzgerald speculated.

Higgins is set to make $21.8 million in 2024 and is scheduled to become a free agent in March. The Bengals and Higgins have until July 15 to agree to a long-term deal. Watch the entire clip below:

“I have no idea…”

Contract guru @Jason_OTC doesn’t really understand why Bengals WR Tee Higgins signed his franchise tender: pic.twitter.com/J9ZiKerVL2
— Ross Tucker Podcast (@RossTuckerPod) June 17, 2024