It turns out Cincinnati Bengals fans, and likely NFL fans, in general, played a role in Tee Higgins signing his franchise tag early.
Higgins put ink to paper on the $21.8 million tag right after voluntary workouts ended earlier this summer. That gave fans some minor hope that perhaps a long-term extension could come together before the July 15 deadline.
No deal happened by that deadline. But Higgins says shutting down the noise and showing where his head is at before training camp and the season were key factors in signing when he did.
Here are Higgins’ interesting comments on the matter, courtesy of Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic: “Obviously, I could’ve waited. But I just wanted to kill all the noise. I was tired of everybody tweeting me and all the other bull—-. I just wanted to kill all that and just lock in.”
The message was sent loud and clear — and amplified on the first day of training camp as Higgins was the most notable wideout on the field.
