CINCINNATI, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 17: Tee Higgins #5 of the Cincinnati Bengals celebrates a touchdown during the third quarter in the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Paycor Stadium on September 17, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
The Cincinnati Bengals will not let one of their core players walk to free agency next month.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Bengals have decided to place the franchise tag on wide receiver Tee Higgins. Rapoport added that the franchise tag number will be around $21.8 million.

The Bengals are usually budget-conscious, but they had no reason to let Higgins walk to free agency without getting anything in return. The franchise tag buys them time to work out a long-term deal, otherwise Cincinnati can either trade Higgins or keep him under contract for the 2024 season before revisiting extension talks next year.

Higgins missed five games for Cincinnati last season, finishing with 42 receptions for 656 yards and five touchdowns. He recorded back-to-back 70-catch and 1,000-yard seasons for the Bengals in 2021 and 2022, helping them to a Super Bowl 56 appearance in the former year.

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The 2020 second-round pick and Ja’Marr Chase have formed one of the league’s most dynamic receiving duos over the last four years. These two, along with Joe Burrow, have turned the Bengals into an AFC heavyweight after missing the postseason five years in a row from 2016 to 2020.

For his career, Higgins has 257 receptions for 3,684 yards and 24 touchdowns.