Tag decision on TEE coming soon – Crystal Ball - POLL

[Frank Booth]

(02-02-2024, 08:14 PM)J24 Wrote: I think they keep him longterm. It's all about keeping Joe happy and losing Tee would piss him off.

god, I hope that's not the case. I get it... I love joe burrow, you love joe burrow, we all love joe burrow, but you cant have him making the decisions here

[J24]

(02-02-2024, 08:30 PM)Frank Booth Wrote: god, I hope that's not the case. I get it... I love joe burrow, you love joe burrow, we all love joe burrow, but you cant have him making the decisions here

That's how the world works bro! 

[007BengalsFan]

(02-02-2024, 07:42 PM)ochocincos Wrote: What are people's thoughts on retaining Irwin (RFA) and letting him and Iosivas compete for WR2?
While we may not see quite Higgins-level performance, it might be really good bang for the buck.
Then you can go all in on DT, OL, and TE between FA and the draft.

Irwin could be a #3 but no way he is a #2.  Jones didnt do anything this year and Iosivas dropped way too many balls that were contested by a DB.   None of these guys are a #2 WR.   We are fine at the #3 and #4 positions but we would still need a #2 if Higgins is traded or not signed.

[007BengalsFan]

I think Tee should be tagged and traded so the Bengals are able to get something out of him but I think Bengals management will instead tag him, keep him and let him walk after the season and get nothing for him while spending 21 million dollar to rent him for one more season when that 21 million dollars could have been better spent elsewhere not to mention losing a draft pick that could have been used for Tee's replacement.

[Isaac Curtis: The Real #85]

He will get tagged.

The FO will likely only want to committ to an APY under the tag #. Tee & his camp want that or more.

I think he plays a year under the tag. Though a deal is possible.

[casear2727]

(02-02-2024, 08:14 PM)J24 Wrote: I think they keep him longterm. It's all about keeping Joe happy and losing Tee would piss him off.

This is such speculation.  Joe is not stupid and if Tee was an exorbitant amount Joe would surely understand.  

It's so odd to project that Joe would be "pissed" that Tee could get so much more elsewhere for himself at the same time that amount would be detrimental to the Bengals.

[Bengal Dude]

(02-02-2024, 01:51 AM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: One of the kickers maybe? And they were able to get a deal done with Rudi the season they tagged him.

I don't think they tagged Rudi. I know he was coming off of his RFA year, but I think they re-signed him right as free agency started.

(02-02-2024, 10:01 AM)XenoMorph Wrote: Nugent i think

I guess Nugent counts. They did re-sign him the season after, but I remember it being they put out a low offer to him and Josh Brown and see which one bit first, naturally it was Nugent.

[J24]

(02-03-2024, 02:03 AM)casear2727 Wrote: This is such speculation.  Joe is not stupid and if Tee was an exorbitant amount Joe would surely understand.  

It's so odd to project that Joe would be "pissed" that Tee could get so much more elsewhere for himself at the same time that amount would be detrimental to the Bengals.

He already said he wants and expects Tee back for next season. If Tee is in fact not on the roster then the FO damn well has to sign another stud player in free agency = to Tee.

[casear2727]

(02-03-2024, 11:28 AM)J24 Wrote: He already said he wants and expects Tee back for next season. If Tee is in fact not on the roster then the FO damn well has to sign another stud player in free agency = to Tee.

He can be on the roster with a franchise tag, which most agree is the most likely.

[*ochocincos*]

(02-02-2024, 09:19 PM)007BengalsFan Wrote: Irwin could be a #3 but no way he is a #2.  Jones didnt do anything this year and Iosivas dropped way too many balls that were contested by a DB.   None of these guys are a #2 WR.   We are fine at the #3 and #4 positions but we would still need a #2 if Higgins is traded or not signed.

When I say WR2, I don't mean 2nd option in the offense.
I mean the other outside WR.
Depending on the offense, the other outside WR can be the 3rd or even 4th option due to how the slot and TE are utilized.
Apologies for not clarifying that.
I've just always used WR2 as the 2nd outside WR and WR3 as the slot WR.

[depthchart]

(02-02-2024, 08:25 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Boyd also gone, yes.

Outside WRs - Chase, Irwin/Iosivas
Slot - Jones
TE - Hudson/FA/draft pick

What holds me back is the Super Bowl run chances with this receiver Group.

I get the concept of Stacking up at other positions of need while letting the receiver position sort of bottom out at

this level. If no solid Free Agent receiver is added and Top 1 through 4 round Draft capital is spent on other positions then

the Bengals are trying to make a Super Bowl run with this receiving Core.

Granted that a solid Tight End is added and the other position Groups get upgraded.

Like it Longer Term (say if the Green Bay Model of adding receivers gets done over time - They added 2nd rounder Christian Watson &

4th rounder Romeo Dobbs in 2022 then added 2nd rounder Jayden Reed & 5th rounder Dontavion Wicks in 2023.

*Maybe if the Bengals made one solid 2024 Draft pick at receiver taken in round 2 or 3 or 4 that could be productive during the 

2nd half of the 2024 season like a few of the Green Bay receivers did it would give a boost to this receiver Group yet still allow the

other position Groups to get upgraded enough.

** If Chase gets hurt for any length of Time it could be extra bad. That was one advantage of having veterans TEE & Boyd around.

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(02-02-2024, 07:42 PM)ochocincos Wrote: What are people's thoughts on retaining Irwin (RFA) and letting him and Iosivas compete for WR2?
While we may not see quite Higgins-level performance, it might be really good bang for the buck.
Then you can go all in on DT, OL, and TE between FA and the draft.

(02-02-2024, 08:25 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Boyd also gone, yes.

Outside WRs - Chase, Irwin/Iosivas
Slot - Jones
TE - Hudson/FA/draft pick

I don't think there's a single TE available that's good enough to offset how bad the entire pass catching group would be. That's Chase and a bunch of scrubs right there. If I were the Steelers I would just cheap shot Chase on play 1 (or just triple team him) and then watch Burrow throw to an offensive group of Irwin, Iosivas, C Jones, and Hudson. That's a PS/3rd string group.

They need to add both a TE and a WR. They don't need to be world beaters, but they need to be solid above average starters.

[Isaac Curtis: The Real #85]

(02-01-2024, 06:19 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: Also, for those of you in the "they tagged Bates, they will just do the same with Tee" camp - the safety vs. WR tag is 14 million vs. 20 million. It's a significant more amount of money.

We gave $70 mil on cap space, over $50 functionally. Without a cut or restructure of anyone. We will tag him. Early on. 

[Essex Johnson]

(02-03-2024, 11:28 AM)J24 Wrote: He already said he wants and expects Tee back for next season. If Tee is in fact not on the roster then the FO damn well has to sign another stud player in free agency = to Tee.

I would assume we would be trading him, if not on roster, i would think we would use the draft pick a 2/3 I would think to draft his replacement, why would we release him but then still spend $$$ on a new WR?

[Essex Johnson]

(02-03-2024, 03:23 PM)depthchart Wrote: What holds me back is the Super Bowl run chances with this receiver Group.

I get the concept of Stacking up at other positions of need while letting the receiver position sort of bottom out at

this level. If no solid Free Agent receiver is added and Top 1 through 4 round Draft capital is spent on other positions then

the Bengals are trying to make a Super Bowl run with this receiving Core.

Granted that a solid Tight End is added and the other position Groups get upgraded.

Like it Longer Term (say if the Green Bay Model of adding receivers gets done over time - They added 2nd rounder Christian Watson &

4th rounder Romeo Dobbs in 2022 then added 2nd rounder Jayden Reed & 5th rounder Dontavion Wicks in 2023.

*Maybe if the Bengals made one solid 2024 Draft pick at receiver taken in round 2 or 3 or 4 that could be productive during the 

2nd half of the 2024 season like a few of the Green Bay receivers did it would give a boost to this receiver Group yet still allow the

other position Groups to get upgraded enough.

** If Chase gets hurt for any length of Time it could be extra bad. That was one advantage of having veterans TEE & Boyd around.

They for sure drafted in 2023 to at the least replace Boyd with Jones and adding depth with Iosivas similar to what the Packers did in 2022, I don;t see them just cutting Higgins, so at minimum they are going to probably get a 3 and later round for Higgins which then enables them to draft a WR in 2/3 this year

[depthchart]

(02-05-2024, 02:39 PM)Isaac Curtis: The Real #85 Wrote: We gave $70 mil on cap space, over $50 functionally. Without a cut or restructure of anyone. We will tag him. Early on. 

(02-05-2024, 02:59 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: They for sure drafted in 2023 to at the least replace Boyd with Jones and adding depth with  Iosivas similar to what the Packers did in 2022, I don't see them just cutting Higgins, so at minimum they are going to probably get a 3 and later round for Higgins which then enables them to draft a WR in 2/3 this year

Seems to me like the Bengals planned for Tyler Boyd to go in 2024 and have not planned for TEE to go in 2024.

If Charlie Jones is Boyd's replacement then the Bengals are relying on a player with just 7 catches for 64 yards 

in his career. Jones weighed just 175 pounds at his Combine & is yet to prove durable for an NFL Season plus Playoffs

after having heavy usage in a season. That said, he could still be the Planned Boyd replacement (just with risk)

To then let TEE leave and replace him with a rookie could be a drop off in the desired #2 production unless it is a Solid rookie

that replaces TEE & that rookie will have to prove to be NFL Season plus Playoffs durable. (more risk)

Andrei Iosivas (15 catches for 116 yards last year) & Trenton Irwin (25 catches for 316 yards in 2023) are unproven as season

long starters. (risky options)

*For a Super Bowl Run, TEE returning in 2024 (even if forced to on the Tag) seems almost like a necessity to me unless 

he is replaced with a very good Free Agent -or- an easy to get up to speed rookie. (maybe even 1st round)

[Soonerpeace]

https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/news/look-cap-analyst-shares-tee-higgins-contract-projection-ahead-of-free-agency

[TecmoBengals]

(02-07-2024, 09:56 AM)Soonerpeace Wrote: https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/news/look-cap-analyst-shares-tee-higgins-contract-projection-ahead-of-free-agency

I still believe the outcome is the Bengals tag Tee. If not, I predict he signs with the Jets or Panthers.

[XenoMorph]

(02-03-2024, 02:07 PM)casear2727 Wrote: He can be on the roster with a franchise tag, which most agree is the most likely.

He played pretty bad on a Contract year..    Will he play better on a tag?

[Stewy]

(02-01-2024, 05:59 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: The majority of the votes for Higgins getting tagged are simply emotional votes, as they don't want the inevitable to happen.  As was previously mentioned, the last two Bengals to play under the tag did so grudgingly, and played with extreme caution as to their physical health.  In my opinion, executing the franchise tag without a clear path to productive negotiations towards a viable contract does nothing but harm for the team.

The question was what do we think WILL happen, not WANT to happen.  So what does emotion have to do with it.  We were asked to predict what the FO will do, not what we'd do.

I think they will tag him.  What happens after, I have no clue.

What I WANT, is a transition TAG, and let him go while reaping the rewards.   Regardless of his injury plagued season ,he is still a top tier WR.  TAG and trade is much trickier.

What I DO NOT think will happen is Tag and sign long term.  The team can't afford to have 40mil+ invented in WR.  I believe Burrow is one of the top 3 QBs in the league, and with a true #1 (Chase) and young  talent, a FA or high draft pick TE/WR should be enough weapons for him.