The Lions may have had another motive for assigning Raymond the franchise tag in addition to their desire to retain their elite group of wide receivers for the 2024 campaign. With Higgns and Ja’Marr Chase, quarterback Joe Burrow would have a lot less trouble the following season.

Higgins was tagged by the Cincinnati Bengals last week.

Many fans and pundits believed the Bengals intended to keep Higgins for the 2024 season rather than letting him go free agent when they placed the franchise tag on him last week. Higgins may not have reached free agency, but it is still unclear if he will play out the entire 2024 season in Cincinnati.

In 2024, Tee Higgins might not be a member of the Bengals.

According to Dan Graziano and

In 2024, Tee Higgins might not be a member of the Bengals.

The talk at the NFL Combine, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler, was that the Bengals tagged Higgins early, giving them time to peddle him around before free agency:

Many in Indianapolis appeared to believe that Tee Higgins was just franchised by the Bengals so they could move him. Cincinnati might not be able to hold the group together around Joe Burrow for very long, as a Ja’Marr Chase extension is probably coming this offseason or next.