One of the most sought-after players heading into the 2025 NFL Free Agency period will be Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. While he has played second fiddle to this season’s receiving triple-crown winner, Higgins is talented enough to be the WR1 on at least half of the league’s teams.
With the tight wallets in Cincinnati already needing to pay Ja’Marr Chase and sack leader Trey Hendrickson this offseason, it feels as though Higgins is a true free agent. All 32 teams know this. So, when Higgins posts a cryptic message, it’s worth an eyebrow raise. Let’s take a look at his message to fans, the 2025 NFL salary cap rankings, and some Tee Higgins free agency destinations.
Tee Higgins’ Cryptic Post to Bengals Fans
Tee Higgins recently took to social media to share a cryptic message that has made headlines: “Ima let yall know first.”
Following the Super Bowl, everyone is not shifting their attention to next season, figuring out what moves to make this offseason. With this, a big talking point is the top players in NFL Free Agency. Tee Higgins is among that elite group of top players. So, with Higgins posting a message like this, it does raise some questions.
Higgins says he will let us know first. Naturally, we can assume he is talking about his decision of where to play next season. This does suggest he doesn’t already have his answer, which means it’s not a guarantee he will be back in Cincinnati despite Joe Burrow wanting the team to “pay everyone.”
Reading into this a bit more (likely too much), if Higgins does indeed let us know first, it suggests he will try to let us know before letting the team know. That doesn’t bode well for the Bengals. If the Bengals are to re-sign Higgins this offseason, it would be something the Bengals, and other media, report much earlier than the free-agent wide receiver.
Afterward, Higgins would post another message on Instagram, stating he has options everywhere:
NFL Salary Cap Rankings 2025
There are many teams that have a lot of money to spend this offseason. Many of these teams also have a need to sign a receiver of Tee Higgins’ caliber. That is why Higgins will receive a massive payday this offseason if he chooses to chase money over the desire to win championships in the short term.
Per Spotrac, these are the salary cap rankings heading into the 2025 offseason. The projected cap space for the new league year is expected to be close to $275 million, which is a big increase from $255.4M last season.
- Patriots ($123.55M)
- Raiders ($95.17M)
- Commanders ($79.51M)
- Cardinals ($71.32M)
- Chargers ($65.65M)
- Bears ($64.87M)
- Vikings ($61.14M)
- Lions ($56.72M)
- 49ers ($50.36M)
- Titans ($49.79M)
- Bengals ($49.47M)
Tee Higgins Free Agent Destinations | NFL Free Agency 2025
The Cincinnati Bengals have three options. First, they could negotiate a new contract with Higgins. If they can’t come to terms but still want to keep him, they could franchise-tag Higgins for a second time. This would cost roughly $26.2M for next season, with all of it being guaranteed money.
Of course, they could choose to move on from him. If this happens, here are three interesting Tee Higgins free agency destinations.
New England Patriots
If the goal for this Tee Higgins free agency period is to make the most money possible, it’s tough to imagine Higgins would sign anywhere but New England. With an estimated $123.55M in cap space, the Patriots could make Higgins one of the highest-paid wide receivers and still have the most money to spend for the rest of NFL Free Agency.
Higgins would walk in as the clear WR1 on a team with new optimism. Mike Vrabel is the new man in charge and Drake Maye is the quarterback behind center. With an improved receiving corps and offensive line, it’s possible the Patriots make a bit of noise in the AFC East. If they are able to sign Higgins, it would be a massive step in the right direction.
Los Angeles Chargers
At 26 years old, pairing Higgins with a young, talented quarterback feels like the right move. If Tee Higgins is looking for a great opportunity to make a lot of money while also contending for a Super Bowl, why not head to Los Angeles?
In Jim Harbaugh’s first season as the head coach, he completely turned the culture around. This is now a hard-nosed team that won 11 games. However, aside from Ladd McConkey, the team didn’t have a receiving threat. Locking in Higgins as the outside receiver this offseason would make the Chargers one of the best teams in the entire league.
Tennessee Titans
From Oak Ridge, Tennessee, it’s possible Tee Higgins chooses to return home to play for a team that has a clear direction this offseason. While the record would say otherwise, the Tennessee Titans were not a terrible football team this past season. Will Levis, however, was a terrible quarterback.
If the Titans draft a quarterback, continue to upgrade their offensive line, and then sign Tee Higgins to solidify this receiving corps, they would immediately become a threat in a weak division. Higgins would join Calvin Ridley to form a solid receiving duo, but this time Higgins would be the WR1.
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