Tee Higgins to sign franchise tender Saturday

Tee Higgins is set to sign his franchise tender Saturday and plans to report to training camp, according to a league source.

This is the latest step in a process that has felt inevitable since the Cincinnati Bengals placed the tag on the wide receiver at the first possible instant in February. Higgins was the first NFL player to be tagged in the offseason.

Higgins made a trade request thereafter but the Bengals indicated zero desire to fulfill it, instead reiterating their desire to make one more run at a Super Bowl with Higgins alongside Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase.

Higgins will make $21.9 million this year on the tag and be a free agent entering a booming receiver market in the spring. Of the nine players to be given the franchise tag in the NFL this offseason, Higgins is the only one who didn’t agree to a long-term contract.

The market to sign Higgins has gone up dramatically as Justin Jefferson, Nico Collins, Jaylen Waddle and others all took turns lifting the expectations of top WR contracts. Jefferson recently penned a four-year, $140 million contract extension that will not only make him the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL, but also the highest-paid non-quarterback.

The Bengals made Burrow the highest-paid player in NFL history last offseason and have eyes on keeping him with Chase long-term. That’s left Higgins on the outside of his desired terms.

Meanwhile, the Bengals just spent a third-round pick on WR Jermaine Burton and have been especially pleased with the progress of 2023 draft pick Andrei Iosivas.

Higgins did not participate in the offseason program, which ended Thursday in Cincinnati.

Higgins, 25, finished with 42 receptions for 656 yards and five touchdowns over an injury-shortened 12 games last season. He’s surpassed 1,000 receiving yards twice (2021, 2022) since the Bengals drafted him with the 33rd pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.

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(Photo: Charles LeClaire / USA Today)