The NFL’s window for teams to use their franchise tag is now officially open, and the Cincinnati Bengals are one of the teams that seem likely to use theirs.
They have until March 5 to apply a tag, which would extend the timeframe in which they could negotiate an extension with that player if that’s the route the Bengals wanted to take.
It has been reported that the Bengals are likely to use their franchise tag on wide receiver Tee Higgins, which Bleacher Report estimates would take around $21.7 million to secure Higgins for another year.
That would likely be around what Higgins would be worth in free agency for one year, but if the Bengals were able to work out an extension with him in that timeframe the contract could also be structured in a way that would still give them more cap space next year.
Jonah Williams is another big free agent leaving the Bengals, and they do have the option of tagging him, but as a right tackle, the $21.7 million it would cost to do so would be over the market value for someone on the outside of the right side of the line. Williams could be looking to test free agency as a left tackle since they normally earn more, and he has played there most of his career.
Here’s what Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report estimates what a franchise tag at each position would cost:
QB: $36 million
RB: $12.4 million
WR: $21.7 million
TE: $12.4 million
OL: $21.7 million
DE: $23.3 million
DT: $19.8 million
LB: $21.9 million
CB: $18.4 million
