The Cincinnati Bengals wasted the final year of Tee Higgins’s rookie contract in 2024 by completely missing the playoffs.
They surged late but, in the end, came up short, missing the final playoff spot to the Denver Broncos in week 18. Higgins missed a handful of games this past season due to a hamstring injury at the beginning of the year and a leg quad strain during practice in week 8. These injuries may raise concerns about his durability and potential impact on his future performance. Despite the injury-plagued season where he played in 12 games, he still caught 73 balls for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns. He enters free agency as one of the hottest wide receivers on the market, and plenty of teams will gladly pay for his services since he’s only 26 years of age. I’ll predict where Tee Higgins will sign his name for the coming years and what to expect from him in fantasy.
Cincinnati Bengals
I mean, duh. The Bengals surely don’t want to lose a young weapon in Joe Burrow’s arsenal. They will do whatever they can to ensure he stays in Cincinnati, no matter the price he’s earned. According to spotrac.com, he will command an average salary of $25.1 million annually. The Bengals should be able to stomach this figure, as it’s only a 4 million dollar increase per year from the franchise tag he is coming off of. He should remain in Cincinnati, and because of the presence of Ja’Marr Chase, he will continue to put up boom or bust-type fantasy numbers as a middle- 3rd round selection in 2025 fantasy drafts.
New England Patriots
It’s all about the Benjamins. No other teams in the NFL can offer Tee Higgins more money than the Patriots. They are sitting on 131.6 million dollars, ready to unload on any top free agents in 2025. If Higgins were to leave Cincinnati for the money in New England, he would instantly, in my eyes, lead the team in targets. It isn’t easy to project his numbers right now just because the Pats will likely be highly active in free agency. That said, in 2025 drafts, Higgins, as the number 1 wide receiver, would be drafted in the top 10 at his position in the second round.
Tennessee Titans
Of course, the Titans’ main priority is to figure out the quarterback position. They have several different avenues they can take to solve that issue. The Titans are 61 million dollars under the cap, but they can grow that number before free agency begins on March 12. I’m putting the Titans as a dark horse team to land the biggest fish at wide receiver because of Higgins’s familiarity with Brian Callahan from their time together in Cincinnati. In Tennessee, I expect him to fall in your fantasy drafts in 2025, especially if they select a rookie QB in the upcoming draft. He could fall anywhere from the fourth to the sixth round based on the lackluster offense they displayed in 2024.