Tobin on his way out?

[jj22]

(Yesterday, 01:11 PM)ERIC1 Wrote: thanks for your insider knowledge

I mean if you guys want to ignore the fact I linked where this came from to act like I said it myself then that is on you all. 

[Soonerpeace]

(Yesterday, 12:38 PM)jj22 Wrote: Burrow even pressured them behind closed doors.

They even admitted it was a group effort in the presser with a lot of stuff happening publicly and privately with Burrow... You know who's name didn't come up in all the thank you's...... Tobin.

In other threads yall highlight how things have changed with the FO with Burrow. Why the sudden bout face? 

But yea, this FO would have always dished out this type of record breaking money for two players at the same position..... 

If you want to say Joe had a big influence nobody is disagreeing there. But to characterize it as high pressure it wasn’t. Would Tee be here if both Joe and Chase had been indifferent of course not. Having that amount of money tied up in two receivers is unprecedented. I’m sure at some franchises ownership would have said go kick rocks.But they had to work through it. But things really changed when Tee switched agents to Rocky Arceneaux. But the Browns weren’t dragged kicking and screaming. Their head coach wanted it. Nobody thinks that had any impact. But when your GM & Head Coach are closely aligned and your 2 star players …. That’s what made it impossible to disregard.

[jj22]

I didn't realize a Tee extension was so given around here.

I personally always thought it was an extreme long shot and more likely not (although having him playing on the tag again made sense).

If you all think extending him was always in the plans then they really screwed up by not even negotiating with him last offseason... Or the offseason before that.

[Soonerpeace]

(Yesterday, 01:57 PM)jj22 Wrote: I didn't realize a Tee extension was so given around here.

I personally always thought it was an extreme long shot and more likely not (although having him playing on the tag again made sense).

If you all think extending him was always in the plans then they really screwed up by not even negotiating with him last offseason... Or the offseason before that.

I don’t think it was always in the plans and I think it went back and forth. But again switching agents made a huge difference. They worked through it. But there wasn’t some super pressure by Joe. This was a big deal. I’m sure they waffled back and forth. I think they finally made up their mind this was the best decision for the organization 

[TJHoushmandzadeh's Shiny Shoes]

(Yesterday, 01:57 PM)jj22 Wrote: I didn't realize a Tee extension was so given around here.

I personally always thought it was an extreme long shot and more likely not (although having him playing on the tag again made sense).

If you all think extending him was always in the plans then they really screwed up by not even negotiating with him last offseason... Or the offseason before that.

I would expect most people would point to Tee changing his agent as the time an extension became more likely. Mulugheta was always seen as the obstacle to getting a deal done.

Had he changed agents last year it might have been done earlier.

Certainly at the Combine Duke seemed notably more bullish on Tee than on Trey.

[*rfaulk34*]

(Yesterday, 01:57 PM)jj22 Wrote: I didn't realize a Tee extension was so given around here.

I personally always thought it was an extreme long shot and more likely not (although having him playing on the tag again made sense).

If you all think extending him was always in the plans then they really screwed up by not even negotiating with him last offseason... Or the offseason before that.

If you're able to find all these articles about how the intent was to tag and trade, why can't you find all the articles about how the intent was to sign and keep him?

There's def a lot of them out there. My recollection is that a lot of fans wanted to tag and trade to get the pics and have the cap to sign defense, while the entire time, the front office made it seem like they were going to do everything to sign and keep. 

https://www.bengals.com/news/ja-marr-chase-tee-higgins-trey-hendrickson-contracts-combine#:~:text=%22Tee%20Higgins%20is%20a%20fantastic,Always%20has%20been.%22

https://www.cincyjungle.com/2025/3/18/24388882/duke-tobin-go-find-your-own-quote-tee-higgins-cincinnati-bengals

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/duke-tobin-i-want-tee-higgins-back-but-the-pie-is-only-so-big

[jj22]

Because I didn't google anything. I came across the article while the extensions were being discussed everywhere, on many media outlets and posted it. I don't need google to back anything I say around here up. Yall should know that by now.

I am not the one to google "Did Bengals want tee" to make a point. I was around to remember how all of this went down.

I've also listened to Mo, Tony, James all week and they've gone on and on about how Burrow effected the decision to extend Tee.... You guys coming for me just seems like you haven't been paying attention to the weeks big news and all the reporting that came out of it.

But hey, google Tobin on re-signing Jessie bates and you'll hear the same thing as you found with his comments on wanting Tee back. Here's a hint. They "wanted" Bates back too....

[jj22]

[*rfaulk34*]

(Yesterday, 02:20 PM)jj22 Wrote: Because I didn't google anything. I came across the article while the extensions were being discussed everywhere, on many media outlets and posted it. I don't need google to back anything I say around here up. Yall should know that by now.

I am not the one to google "Did Bengals want tee" to make a point. I was around to remember how all of this went down.

I've also listened to Mo, Tony, James all week and they've gone on and on about how Burrow effected the decision to extend Tee.... You guys coming for me just seems like you haven't been paying attention to the weeks big news and all the reporting that came out of it.

But hey, google Tobin on re-signing Jessie bates and you'll hear the same thing as you found with his comments on wanting Tee back. Here's a hint. They "wanted" Bates back too....

No one's coming for you. It's just that Duke has clearly said all along that he wanted Tee on the team. 

You listening to clickbait talking heads has nothing to do with reality, necessarily. Believe them if you want. I'm just not that gullible in the face of hard facts.

[jj22]

(Yesterday, 02:29 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: No one's coming for you. It's just that Duke has clearly said all along that he wanted Tee on the team. 

You listening to clickbait talking heads has nothing to do with reality, necessarily. Believe them if you want. I'm just not that gullible in the face of hard facts.

I do trust some of the opinions of the local reporters..... 

[Frank Booth]

local reporters and beat writers ultimately work for the team, so they cant give out their true honest opinions and speak their minds on certain things. And they ultimately want clicks, so they will sell you anything. Rapien in particular is a car salesman

[*rfaulk34*]

(Yesterday, 02:40 PM)jj22 Wrote: I do trust some of the opinions of the local reporters..... 

Nothing wrong with trusting them. I just like to fact check and weigh their opinions against statements already out there and/or M.O. 

[coachmcneil71]

(Yesterday, 01:44 PM)jj22 Wrote: There has been a ton of reporting all week on how these contracts came about. None of this is coming from me. It's been the talk of the week! Maybe folks haven't been paying attention or listening to interviews and key local media figures discuss this. 

But yea, this is the standard FO contract approach as it has always been. If you all say so. Great job Tobin. I concede he has power.

Bates, Reader, MJ (when it was between him and Dunlap), TJ (when it was between him and Ocho), Marvin Jones and even Palmer himself etc just to name a few recent cases may beg to differ.

As far as I can tell, I don't think that our opinions differ that much. We both want the team to have success. Those that have been here, including yourself, we all know that they've shit the bed too many time to count. 

Ts, this isn't one of those times! This essentially opens up about a half decade window to win a Ship. If the GD team can't fix the defense over a 5 year period then the FO and Duke don't deserve to win a Bowl. This deal solidifies one side of the ball as almost elite.

As a humble Bengal fan I can accept that with a smile and be thankful. In this case Duke, Mr. Brown ( You see that shit! I've never referred to him as Mr. Brown) , Katie and company have done well.  Now, let's crush this draft!

[phil413]

(Yesterday, 01:57 PM)jj22 Wrote: I didn't realize a Tee extension was so given around here.

I personally always thought it was an extreme long shot and more likely not (although having him playing on the tag again made sense).

If you all think extending him was always in the plans then they really screwed up by not even negotiating with him last offseason... Or the offseason before that.

Tobin went from "get your own WR" to "there's only so many slices to the pie" to Tee being extended.  We know the agent change and pleasing Chase and thus Burrow were instrumental, but I think most of us understand this did go back and forth. 

After signing Brown Jr. as another big money offensive player I think the goal was to win a ring and then trade Tee like KC did (albeit not the same return) with Hill.  In the meantime, we haven't brought in the young talent on D that needs a extended next year anyway.  

So, Tee is a buffer to get Chase signed and keeping Burrow happy. Being built around Burrow > being built "right".  So, by default Tee became a win/win. It was a process, one that could have been handled better with Chase, Trey and Tee but the replacement plans fell apart as well.  

[coachmcneil71]

(Yesterday, 02:20 PM)jj22 Wrote: Because I didn't google anything. I came across the article while the extensions were being discussed everywhere, on many media outlets and posted it. I don't need google to back anything I say around here up. Yall should know that by now.

I am not the one to google "Did Bengals want tee" to make a point. I was around to remember how all of this went down.

I've also listened to Mo, Tony, James all week and they've gone on and on about how Burrow effected the decision to extend Tee.... You guys coming for me just seems like you haven't been paying attention to the weeks big news and all the reporting that came out of it.

But hey, google Tobin on re-signing Jessie bates and you'll hear the same thing as you found with his comments on wanting Tee back. Here's a hint. They "wanted" Bates back too....

They dicked around and tried to play Bengal Ball with Jessie's contract. It was rubbing their arse wrong to have to match that ATL money. So, they hem-hawed around, certainly didn't use a very good sales pitch, and he moved on.

Bates is from Indiana but he played his college ball and spent his young adulthood in that corner of the SE. Guess where Metropolis lies in that part of the SE? Yep, you guessed it! The ATL! My point being, he was probably already familiar with Atlanta. The "titties and beer" (RIP Zappa) aka atmosphere in parts of Atlanta is second to none. 
Bengals needed to blow him away to keep him in Cincy, they didn't, and they had tagged him the previous year. He was like "Bengals be clowning again". Bye Felisha. 

This time around they had their feet held to the fire by everyone; Burrow, Chase, Tee, their agent, the media, their past, and the fanbase. Losing Jessie hindered the defense. Losing the others, be it physically or mentally, was going to be devastating and unacceptable. They would have lost the team and a healthy allotment of the fanbase as well.

[coachmcneil71]

(Yesterday, 01:57 PM)jj22 Wrote: I didn't realize a Tee extension was so given around here.

I personally always thought it was an extreme long shot and more likely not (although having him playing on the tag again made sense).

If you all think extending him was always in the plans then they really screwed up by not even negotiating with him last offseason... Or the offseason before that.

They did screw the pooch by not getting both players done last season, and it cost them a chunk. They could've had Tee in the low 20s and Chase in the 30s. By jacking around they had to escalate into the 30s for Tee and (Jeezuz HC!) the 40s for Chase. Ts, Chase was gonna get his regardless! I don't think that's even debatable. 

[*Synric*]

Drafting has been an issue but coaches developing young players has been worse. Marvin Lewis was able to develop and get snaps out of the majority of his draft picks. At one point Marvin & the Bengals had the most draft picks still playing across in the NFL. Since Zac Taylor took over they have had a very spotty track record getting young players on the field.  This was also the #1 reason Lou Anarumo was fired.

[Luvnit2]

I find it hilarious fans act like they know the Bengals plan a, plan b and so on. The reality is not one fan is privy to. these plans. All we know is the team stated on many occassions they wanted to keep Tee. They attempted to sign him the previous 2 years.

We know for a fact the FO got thedeal done. We know for a fact the team got the deal done loaded with incentives (stay healthy) and an unbelievably low guaranteed cash at signing. Do fans realize Tee is only guaranteed 25% of his contract and team will exhasut the guarantee in the middle of 2026.

Many fans like me were very concerned with Tee's injury history. Many fans said Tee would get a huge guaranteed contract because other teams would give him one. The the team made sure other teams did not get the ability to discuss a contracy with Tee.

Tee's contract really is a 2 year deal for 30 million dollars. That is all that is guaranteed. After 2 years, team could trade the then 28 year old if he does not stay healthy or digresses. Also, he has incentives for playing in games, if he is hurt Bengals pay him less and recoup cap space the following year. That is true for all 4 years of his deal.

I don't think fans realize it Katie, Troy and Tobin doing an oustanding job. Yes Joe wanted him here, but we all know the Bengals FO, they would not have caved if Tee demanded 50 to 60% guaranteed contract. Joe got his wish, the FO got their deal.

[Luvnit2]

(8 hours ago)coachmcneil71 Wrote: They did screw the pooch by not getting both players done last season, and it cost them a chunk. They could've had Tee in the low 20s and Chase in the 30s. By jacking around they had to escalate into the 30s for Tee and (Jeezuz HC!) the 40s for Chase. Ts, Chase was gonna get his regardless! I don't think that's even debatable. 

I strongly disagree about Tee. Look athis deal, he may never see anything close to 30 million a year unless he stays healthy and over achieves. As of now as I mentioned, he is only guaranteed 30 million dollars over the life of a 4 year deal, awesome contract by the FO. They lost nothing with Tee by waiting. In fact him being injured again in 2025 devalued his contract in my opinion. At least, that is how I read the deal.

Edit - I misread Tee's deal, he actuallly is guaranteed 40 million. But still an out after 2 years and also the game played incentive he loses if hurt and can't play in a game(s).

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/_/id/47628/tee-higgins

[coachmcneil71]

(7 hours ago)Luvnit2 Wrote: I strongly disagree about Tee. Look athis deal, he may never see anything close to 30 million a year unless he stays healthy and over achieves. As of now as I mentioned, he is only guaranteed 30 million dollars over the life of a 4 year deal, awesome contract by the FO. They lost nothing with Tee by waiting. In fact him being injured again in 2025 devalued his contract in my opinion. At least, that is how I read the deal.

Right on! I didn't read it, so and I'll take your word for it, but I glanced over it.. Ts, the WR market ballooned over the past 2 years. It is a good deal! Tee's a #1 WR on about 28 of the 32 teams. 

4 year deal with the 2 year option, deal is right at 100 mill. You do the math. It cost the team easily 20-25 million just for Tee because they kicked the can. The previous number had him coming in around 20 per. Dude stated that he wanted to be here. The changing of his agent was a master class in unionization, but it helped to get it done. 

It's hard to place the blame directly on the FO because David M is an arse. No telling what he was asking for. Unfortunately, the WR market did change in that 2 year window and it did cost the org a chunk. Ts, if Tee balls out that chunk is worth every penny!