Starting Tuesday, the Cincinnati Bengals are free to apply the franchise tag to star wideout Tee Higgins (or any eligible player, for that matter).
February 20 is the first of many “key dates” for NFL teams on the calendar this offseason.
Even so, the Bengals don’t project to use the tag right away — it’s just the opening of the window and good to know. Technically, the Bengals have until March 5 to apply a tag. Doing so would then extend the possibility of reaching an extension until July 15 before the tagged player would need to play the season on the one-year pact.
As of now, tagging Higgins will cost roughly $20.7 million and it continues to be the expectation.
