Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins has been under the spotlight since the team extended quarterback Joe Burrow’s contract this week.
And according to Jordan Schultz, the two sides won’t agree to a contract extension before Higgins takes the field with Burrow against the Cleveland Browns for Sunday’s season opener. It follows a report from the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway suggesting it would take something “shocking” for a deal to happen.
Buy Bengals TicketsIt’s not exactly a surprising development, logistically speaking. Burrow was always the team’s first priority and Higgins and his reps wouldn’t want to jump ahead of leaguewide extensions for the likes of Justin Jefferson before those get done.
Even so, this isn’t necessarily a long-term setback to Higgins getting an extension. He has one year left on his rookie deal and after this season, the team could use resources like the franchise tag to keep him in town longer.
While reporting the Burrow deal, Adam Schefter made it clear the Bengals prioritized extensions for Burrow and his top two receivers, the other being Ja’Marr Chase (who is eligible for an extension after this season).
Higgins himself, in his first public comments on Burrow’s extension, doesn’t sound too concerned. While fans would undoubtedly like to see Higgins extended before kickoff, it was always a long shot. And until we know more about the exact structure of Burrow’s deal and its cap ramifications, there’s little to suggest the team couldn’t get creative and make everyone fit under the cap.
