Tee Higgins, Bengals don't do extension by Monday's deadline

The Cincinnati Bengals and wideout Tee Higgins didn’t reach an agreement on an extension before Monday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline, as expected.

As he has been for some time now, Higgins was the only one of eight tagged players not to receive an extension from his team.

Meaning, Higgins will play the 2024 season on the $21.8 million tag before likely testing free agency next offseason. Per the CBA, he’s now unable to sign an extension with the Bengals until after the final regular season game.

The Bengals have hedged their bets at wideout over the last few years, drafting Andrei Iosivas, Charlie Jones and Jermaine Burton this year. Conventional wisdom says those players start to step up with Tyler Boyd gone while the team shifts attention to Ja’Marr Chase’s long-term deal, which is likely to happen one year from now.