Mike Brown on Tee Higgins: You can’t just pay people willy nilly

The Bengals would like to get receiver Ja’Marr Chase signed to a second contract at some point, though it’s unlikely to happen this season.

It’s become more and more clear, however, that the team is planning to move on from Tee Higgins after 2024.

Higgins signed his franchise tender in June and the two sides unsurprisingly did not reach a long-term deal by last week’s deadline. On Monday, Bengals owner Mike Brown noted the salary cap when explaining why Cincinnati has not signed Higgins to an extension.

“The pie is not going to grow. It’s only going to be a certain size, but when you reach a point with your quarterback that you have to pay him a big contract, that takes a disproportionate piece out of the pie,” Brown said, via Geoff Hobson of the team’s website. “Which means you have less left to pay the others. Sometimes that impacts whether you can get the others signed.

“You can’t just pay people willy nilly. You’re restricted on how much you can pay, and we really like Tee Higgins. We would wish to sign him, but it has to be at a certain level to fit within the cap or it can’t be done.”

Given the contract situation, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor expressed appreciation for the way Higgins has gone about his business this offseason.

“I think that he really handled everything the right way,” Taylor said. “I’ve always said this. Tee’s personal and football character has always been what we dreamed of since we drafted him. This is the first time in his life where he’s stuck in a professional situation where it can be managed a lot of different ways, and I thought he did a great job doing it.”

Higgins, 25, reached 1,000 yards in 2021 and 2022 before injuries limited him to 12 games last season. He finished with 42 receptions for 656 yards with five touchdowns.