Bengals Beat: Duke Tobin, Zac Taylor Explain Why They Weren’t About To ‘Linger’ On Tee Higgins Franchise Tag

INDIANAPOLIS — For a second straight year, Duke Tobin made it clear that he and the rest of the Bengals’ front office believe they’re better off with Tee Higgins than without.

That is why the team wasted little time last Friday, after learning of the $30 million increase in the salary cap, placing the $21.8 million franchise tag on the star wide receiver entering his fifth NFL season in 2024.

“Yeah, it’s really simple,” Tobin said. “He’s a good player. We want to keep him and we have resources to do that, so we decided early to do it and that’s where we are. We like Tee, we’re a better team with Tee, so with the way that we’ve managed our cap, we had the ability to put the franchise tag on him, and we did.”

As for the potential of a tag-and-trade deal before or during the draft or before free agency, Tobin was not about to get into that possibility. Reading between the lines, it certainly doesn’t seem likely unless a team wants to overpower the Bengals with an offer. And even then, the Bengals have a history of keeping the player and turning down the deal (remember 1999 when Mike Ditka offered all of New Orleans’ picks, a 2000 and ’01 first-rounder and an 02 second-rounder for the No. 1 overall pick?)

Higgins’ is coming off a season in which he had career lows in catches (42) and yards (656) but a career-best 15.6 yards per catch and five touchdowns in 12 games.

“The message is we really like Tee and we’re a better team with Tee,” Tobin said, repeating nearly the exact words from a year earlier, when Tobin addressed trade speculation over Higgins. “In terms of our intentions going forward and answering hypotheticals of what could and couldn’t come about. I won’t get into that, but we feel like we’re a better team with him. The reason we franchised him is because we would like to have him. He’s not under contract and it’s hard for me to predict all the different scenarios that could happen, but we feel strongly about Tee Higgins and his fit with us.”

Obviously, the Bengals would like to get a long-term deal done with Higgins, but only at a cost that also allows them to work out a long-term deal with Ja’Marr Chase and address multiple needs in free agency – like defensive tackle, tight end and perhaps offensive tackle.

“It’s always a priority when you think about premier-type players and how long you want them,” Tobin said. “We work within the confines of the CBA, like every other team does. And sometimes things come together on a long-term basis. Sometimes they don’t. So we use the resources we have. But we’re always thinking about the future of players and who’s coming up and who all we want to have long-term relationships with. And it’s a never-ending puzzle. Just when you put a piece in, somebody reaches over and takes a piece out, and so we’re trying to fit more pieces in than they’re taking out.”

When Higgins is on the field with Chase, the Bengals have two of the top elite receivers in the game, something head coach Zac Taylor doesn’t take for granted.

“How he goes about his work, number one, is something I respect and I think our entire building respects,” Taylor said. “Number two, just the type receiver he is – big body, great body control, tremendous speed down the field, tremendous body control to transition out of those breaks. He’s one of the top receivers in this league and we don’t want that just walking out of the building, so when you’ve got an opportunity to put a tag on him and keep him in the building and let him play at least another season for us, I think that’s critical.”

The Bengals continue to work toward having an exceptional wide receiver room for Joe Burrow. What makes the Bengals wide receiver room so good?

“Clearly the best personnel department, I guess,” Tobin joked. “I don’t know. We have guys that love the game and they gel with our quarterback and they’re unselfish, they compete. They’re in it for each other as much as they are for themselves, which is good. They believe in what Zac’s doing with ’em. There’s a positive energy in practice. They prepare really well and they just gel well as a group. They’ve come up together and so it’s been fun to watch. Our quarterback drives a lot of the camaraderie and the players are just the ones that we brought in are naturally competitive and they love being around each other.”

Burrow update:

Speaking of the franchise quarterback, it’s going on three months since Burrow had his right wrist surgery following the November 16 injury. Obviously, Cincinnati’s Super Bowl dreams still revolve around No. 9. Tobin said Tuesday that the quarterback is making progress.

“Well, it’s really critical and as far as I know, it’s going really well,” Tobin told me. “He’s been around the building a lot, rehabbing. He’s Joe, so you know that a hundred percent effort is going to go into it. He’s focused on it. All the reports that we’ve gotten have been very positive, so we expect a full recovery and we expect him to continue being Joe.”

“Everything has been positive. Everything has been on schedule,” Taylor added. “Six years on the job I’ve learned not to give timeline on injuries, so we’re certainly encouraged. Everything has been positive. He’s right on course. Excited to get close to the offseason so we have a better sense of all the involvement he’ll have day one of the offseason. He does everything we’ve asked him post-surgery.”

As for Burrow’s contract, one year ago the Bengals hadn’t yet gotten Burrow to sign a big extension. As a matter of fact, he didn’t sign his five-year, $275 million ($219 million guaranteed) until five days before the season opener. Now, seven months later, the Bengals have cost certainty in the position.

“Yeah, he’s under a great big deal. It puts constraints on you. You’ve got to be really judicious with your money,” Tobin acknowledged Tuesday. “You’ve got to determine what’s needed and what’s just wanted. Like I’ve said before, it’s a finite pie and we slice it up a lot of different ways. We want to keep as many good players as we can, but there’s always hard decisions to make as you go through a roster building. We’re just starting the roster building, so I won’t be breaking any news with any of our players or players that will be looking possibly to sign, but we’re just starting the process, but we have flexibility. Katie does a tremendous job of getting us in position to be competitive every season and we’re right there. Again, we’re competitive and we have resources to go out and compete.”

Plan to keep Browning:

Again not a big surprise, Tobin announced Tuesday that the team will bring back backup quarterback Jake Browning under an exclusive free agent rights deal. All the Bengals have to do is extend a veteran minimum offer to Browning and he will remain in Cincinnati. After Browning relieved Joe Burrow on Nov. 16, the Bengals learned they have a very capable backup in Jake Browning. That is a huge asset to have, especially with Burrow coming off wrist surgery.

“He did come in and really blossom and give us the opportunity to win and that’s what you want, especially when you’re working with your backup quarterback,” Tobin said. “You want somebody that can come in and give you the opportunity to win, and he did more than that and we were really impressed with the way that he attacked his role and his leadership when it came down to him being the guy. You could tell he is been in that role before and he was comfortable in that role and we were really impressed with a lot of the things that he did. In terms of keeping him, we plan for him to be with us. Yes.”

Right tackle plans:

The Bengals will likely say goodbye to Jonah Williams in free agency, as the right tackle leaves for greener pastures. The Bengals will enter another offseason looking for a starting offensive lineman. Tobin said Tuesday almost every NFL team is accustomed to the shuffle along the line.

“Well, as the NFL has evolved, the term ‘long-term’ isn’t as long as it used to be considered,” Tobin said. “But yes, we would like to have somebody man the right tackle spot for a number of years, yes. We’d like it to be a young guy that can come in and do that or a veteran that might have the opportunity to rebuild his career, something. But yes, we would like that to be manned on multiple fronts. But we’re considered with having it manned well enough to provide us a chance to win next year. That’s the No. 1 thing. So whether that’s a rookie on a four-year deal or a veteran on a 1-year deal, we’re open to anything there.”

Mixon mission:

What to do with Joe Mixon? That is a $3 million question that needs to be answered by March 18, when the veteran running back is due his $3 million roster bonus. If the Bengals pay it, then it would seem they would committed to Mixon for the final year of his two-year restructure for 2024.

“It doesn’t complicate it. We put it in there for a reason and his agent wanted it in there for a reason,” Tobin said. “But again, from our strategy standpoint and what we intend to do, I’m not going to get into that with any of our players. But yeah, he does have an early roster bonus.

“I can tell you his role this past year was good. He had a really good season for us. I was proud of him over a thousand yards and double digit touchdowns and it was a big factor for us in terms of predicting anybody’s role going forward. I’m not going to do that up here on the podium. Those are roster-building strategies and those are things that we’re talking through as this whole thing unfolds with every player on our roster. It’s not specific to just one really proud of Joe in the season he had, and he did a lot of things to help us get into a point where we had a chance. We didn’t get over the hump, but he put us in a position to have a chance.”

Safety net:

After an up-and-down year calling out defenses at safety, there’s been speculation that Dax Hill could revert to his 2022 role, when he played all over the secondary more as a corner than as a safety. The Bengals could bring in another veteran at the position through free agency to allow for a move of Hill around the secondary, a possibility Duke Tobin didn’t rule out Tuesday.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t go into all the offseason plans. But Dax can play corner,” Tobin said. “Dax can play nickel. Dax can play free safety and Dax can play strong safety. Finding the best fit will be up to our defensive coaching staff and Zac and determine, ‘Where can this guy help us the most win football games?’ He can do an awful lot and we’re happy to have him.”

“I think that’s something we do with all our players defensively is how we put them in the best position possible,” Taylor said. “Dax is a guy we drafted who has a unique skill set. He’s played a lot of nickel. He’s played corner. We project him as a safety as well for us. We’ll continue to assess all the roles as we go through the offseason.”

Adding to the possibility of a move for Hill was the improving play of Jordan Battle at safety in the second half of the season.

“We like both of those young players. They’re both pretty versatile, which is a positive when you’re playing in the backfield,” Tobin added. “Dax is really versatile. Finding the best role for him to maximize his skill set would be something we’re working on this offseason. And how best to utilize him to show off his range and his size and his speed and his toughness and all the things that he has. Same thing with Jordan. What’s the best role for him and how does he fit within the defense and who’s the communicator? All those things are things we go through in the offseason and that coach Lou will try to fit together the best that we can. But both those players are young, talented and shown that they belong in this league.”

Tobin said Tuesday he really didn’t regret anything about the losses of Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell in free agency in 2023 since there was little the Bengals could have done and still remain cap responsible.

“I don’t know that I learned anything. You have to reboot sometimes,” Tobin told me. “That’s just the way this league is. Not everybody stays. You can compete to keep guys and sometimes they leave and you move on. We’re not a team that has been the only one dealing with that. There are other teams dealing with that. It seems like the system is set up to encourage players to move around and we try to combat that, but it doesn’t always work. So we’re prepared to go forward with other guys when that happens.”