Deshaun Watson wants Tee Higgins to jump from Bengals to Browns
Bengals receiver Tee Higgins has worn an orange helmet for all of his four-year NFL career. If Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has his way, Higgins will still wear an orange helmet in 2024. Without the stripes.
Watson, appearing on his personal quarterback coach Quincy Avery's podcast, made a pitch for Higgins to leave Cincinnati but not Ohio.
"We wanna pass the ball," Watson said, via Patrick Andres of SI.com. "That's what we're gonna do. We're gonna pass the ball a lot."
Watson hopes to be passing the ball to Higgins, who like Watson played college football at Clemson.
"We're gonna take good care of you," Watson said. "The Cleveland fans are gonna love you to death. We got the Clemson ties. We ain't get to play with each other, but this is our opportunity."
It's unknown whether the Browns organization would have Higgins on their radar screen, if he becomes a free agent. While his contract is expiring, the Bengals have exclusive negotiating rights for now — along with the power to apply the franchise tag.
Cleveland already has plenty of cash and cap space tied up in pass catchers. Receiver Amari Cooper has a salary of $20 million and a cap charge of $23.776 million. Tight end David Njoku counts another $9.645 million against the cap next season.
And Watson himself has a massive $63.77 million cap charge for 2024. That easily can be reduced by restructuring his $46 million salary. But that approach kicks the can, driving up his cap charges in future years. Already, the Browns have pushed $8.894 million of Watson's five-year, fully guaranteed deal into 2027, the year after the expiration of his current contract.
Watson's cap number for each of the next three years is currently $63.977 million. Adding a receiver at a market-value will make it harder to put enough great players around Watson, especially with so many great young receivers now entering the draft every year.
Thus, while it's easy for players like Watson on the team to dabble in fantasy football, the reality continues to be the salary cap. There's only so much money to go around.
The good news is that the cap keeps going up and up, making it easier for teams to absorb big contracts. It remains to be seen whether the Browns will explore giving one to Higgins — assuming the Bengals neither sign him to a long-term deal nor apply the franchise tag.
It's hard to imagine the Bengals letting Higgins get away. Ja'Marr Chase is receiver 1A in Cincinnati, and Higgins is 1B. Even if they have to pay both guys big contracts, the Bengals would be wise to find a way to keep both of them around.
Especially if a division rival is lurking.
