For a multitude of reasons, the 2024 season looks like Tee Higgins’ last with the Bengals.

Tee Higgins’ days with the Cincinnati Bengals are not officially over. But barring something unforeseen, they eventually will be.

Unable to agree to terms on a long-term contract, Higgins will play out the 2024 season on the one-year franchise tag. His dissatisfaction with the organization is surely going to be tough to hide after becoming a top-notch wideout — arguably the best WR2 in football — and not being rewarded with a legit contract.

Perhaps the Bengals and Higgins find a way to continue their partnership after the season. But that doesn’t seem likely after Cincy failed to strike a deal this offseason. For a litany of reasons, this is shaping up to be Higgins’ final season in the jungle, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.

Florio writes the following: “ In more than 30 years of the franchise tag, the Bengals have never kept a player beyond the year in which he was tagged. Only receiver Carl Pickens got a long-term deal. And he was released after one year. Every other tagged player played for one more year and then left as a free agent. Now that the window has closed for a multi-year deal, they can restrict him in 2025 by tagging him again, at a 20-percent bump over his $21.8 million franchise-tag salary in 2024. The tag amount for 2025 would be $26.16 million.”

The Bengals used the franchise tag on safety/Super Bowl starter Jessie Bates and former standout wide receiver A.J. Green then lost both of them the next offseason. Unless they’re finally ready to change their trend, it seems like Higgins isn’t going to get the long-term deal he has earned.

One of the biggest keys in all of this is the pending extension for young superstar Ja’Marr Chase. The Bengals are preparing to extend his contract eventually. It would be a lot to have two super-high-paid wideouts on the payroll but if that duo is Chase and Higgins, it would be very worthwhile.

Bengals’ Tee Higgins would be hot commodity on the trade market

The Bengals kicking the can so far down the road with Higgins’ contract has depleted his trade value. Leaving him on a one-year deal makes it tougher to trade him and so does waiting so far into the offseason that everyone knows you have no choice but to cut bait. The saving grace for Cincinnati is that so many teams may want to trade for Higgins that the price gets driven up.

There should be no shortage of suitors for Higgins in a trade. Teams like the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Chargers could use a star wideout as they look to put a winning team around their star quarterback. The New England Patriots or Carolina Panthers may see Higgins as a player who can greatly support their young quarterbacks.

The Bengals are unlikely to recoup value that’s worth a player of Higgins’ caliber and age (he’s entering his age-25 season). Playing one season on the tag is one thing but playing a second is rare. Cincinnati would be wise to just pay the man. If that’s not feasible, making a trade as soon as possible is what’s best.