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Ben Baby, ESPN Staff Writer
CINCINNATI — With the outcome feeling inevitable, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins said there wasn’t a need for him to wait to sign his franchise tag.
Speaking for the first time since he accepted a one-year deal in June, Higgins said he knocked it out well before the first training camp practice Wednesday because he didn’t want speculation about the upcoming season to linger.
“Obviously there wasn’t no moves being made upstairs,” said Higgins, who participated in his first team practice since last season. “So I pretty much knew this [is] what it was and I was just like, ‘I’m going to go ahead and just sign it and just kill all the noise and just get everybody off my back.'”
Before the start of free agency in March, Higgins requested a trade after a long-term deal in Cincinnati continued to seem unlikely. He said he was serious about that request when it was made after he ended last season with hopes of being in the Bengals’ long-term plans.
Cincinnati gave him the franchise tag, which is fully guaranteed for $21.8 million. The two sides did not come to terms on an extension before the July 15 deadline, which means they can’t negotiate a multiyear deal until after the regular season.
At the team’s media luncheon, team president Mike Brown said a deal couldn’t be made because of constraints under the salary cap.
“We really like Tee Higgins,” Brown said in his lone scheduled media appearance of the year. “We would wish to sign him, but it has to be at a certain level to fit within the cap or it can’t be done.”
Higgins said he was content with how things played out.
“It’s just good to not see my name on the headlines, you know what I’m saying?” Higgins said. “It’s just good to get it done just so I could focus on myself.”
A fifth-year player out of Clemson, Higgins battled injuries last season and appeared in just 12 games, finishing with career lows in receiving yards (656) and catches (42).
Asked if he thought about prioritizing his health over the risk of playing, Higgins said it was “obviously” going to be a thought, given his situation.
“But I’m a guy that likes to work at the end of the day,” Higgins said. “I’ve just got to stay healthy this year. As long as I’m healthy, I’m good.”
Despite Higgins’ presence Wednesday, the Bengals were still without one of their major playmakers.
Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase did not participate in any portion of Wednesday’s practice. He missed all of the team’s voluntary workouts and didn’t participate in anything aside from the walkthrough periods of the team’s mandatory minicamp in June.
Chase, who has made the Pro Bowl the past three years, is looking for a contract extension as he enters the fourth year of his rookie deal. His former college teammate, Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson, received the richest deal for a non-quarterback in league history in June, signing a deal worth $140 million, including $110 million in guaranteed money.
During his news conference Monday, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who also played with Jefferson and Chase at LSU, said he has had private discussions with Chase. While the timeline for Chase to return is unclear, he knows what to expect when Chase is ready to practice.
“I’m not entirely sure what his plan is at this point, but I know he’s with us 100%,” Burrow said. “When he’s ready to come back out there and practice, we’ll be ready to have him. And I know that he’s going to be physically and mentally ready.”