Steelers LOVE Tee Higgins

[hawaiiansteel]

NFL Rumors: Steelers Eyeing Bengals Star Wide Receiver Tee Higgins in Free Agency

Would the Bengals really let Higgins get to free agency?

CINCINNATI — Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins is set to become a free agent in March.

If he hits free agency, the Steelers will be one of many teams pushing to sign him.

Pittsburgh based radio host Andrew Fillipponi believes Higgins would get $30+ million per year if he signed with the Steelers.

"Steelers LOVE Tee Higgins," Fillipponi wrote on X. "And would be willing to give him MORE than they were willing to pay Brandon Aiyuk in a trade last summer. Could mean as much as $30 million a year. Stay tuned."

This rumor is entirely believable—especially after Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin praised Higgins last month.

"When we play Shaq, we're going to use our fouls," Tomlin said.

Comparing Higgins to Pro Basketball Hall of Famer and NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal is quite the compliment.

The Bengals could sign Higgins to an extension ahead of free agency. They could also use the franchise tag for a second-straight year to keep him from hitting the open market.

Regardless, Joe Burrow made it pretty clear that he wants Higgins in Cincinnati long-term.

“Tee is a need, yes,” Burrow said last month. "He's very important. It's not even just his production, it's his presence. It's how he comes to work every day, how the defenses have to play us when he's out there. Tee plays such a big part in what we do here and has for five years now.

“I don't think you can quite put a value on that.”

The franchise tag would cost the Bengals just under $27 million this season. It would also give them more time to negotiate a long-term deal with Higgins.

https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/news/nfl-rumors-steelers-eyeing-bengals-star-wide-receiver-tee-higgins-in-free-agency-01jjvtzkkrpd

[WindyCitySteel]

If they somehow pull this off (very skeptical, would cost twice what Queen got, which set Steeler records for FA), you have to trade Pickens.

[NorthCoast]

Rewind about 10 months ago:

https://steelersnow.com/report-steelers-have-discussed-trading-for-bengals-wr-tee-higgins/

[Terrapin]

Higgins is a great #2. Maybe the best in the league. But he's not a #1 WR. I wouldn't pay him anything close to 30 a year, especially with Justin Fields throwing to him

["BuzzNuter"]

The Steelers aren't going to pay 30M$ for a FA WR. Higgins is good but he had Joe Burrow throwing to him. Now we might pay him 18M$ per max. No this is just stirring the pot.

We would draft a WR high before we signed Higgins.

[Northern_Blitz]

The Steelers aren't going to pay 30M$ for a FA WR. Higgins is good but he had Joe Burrow throwing to him. Now we might pay him 18M$ per max. No this is just stirring the pot.

We would draft a WR high before we signed Higgins.

This is where I'm at too.

I like Higgins.

But you're right that he had Burrow. And while I think he's good enough to be a WR1, he's also the 2nd option on that team because Chase is even better than he is.

[WindyCitySteel]

Higgins is a great #2. Maybe the best in the league. But he's not a #1 WR. I wouldn't pay him anything close to 30 a year, especially with Justin Fields throwing to him

Justin Jefferson is perhaps the only other WR in the league who would be #1 in Cincy over Chase, Higgins would be on 20+ other teams. That said, better to draft WRs, especially on a team that doesn’t use them very much.

Higgins will end up in KC somehow.

[Eich]

Paying QB money to a WR without a QB. Somehow, that doesn't add up. Especially on the Steelers.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

I don't know. I can see a pathway to this happening, but it also seems more like something that is newsworthy for a few weeks and then just doesn't happen.

Question 1: Will the Bengals let him hit the market? They have Burrow and Chase coming up and apparently also want to re-up Hendrickson. All 3 will be big ticket and I don't know if another $30M player can fit under that model. I'd say that the chance is pretty good he goes.

Question 2: Would the Steelers be willing to compete for Higgins? I think they proved that they are. They supposedly had a contract in place with Aiyuk in the $28M range. Aiyuk is also a guy who is not a clear #1, but definitely a big cog in a successful O. One year later I can see the team offering a bit more for a similarly valued player.

Question 3: What does Higgins on this team mean? I agree with those who believe that it signals the end of Pickens. Under this offense, there is no use in having two high priced receivers, and Pickens becomes that after 2025. They might trade him, they might keep him for the year, but unless that year together triggers an offensive explosion, Pickens hits FA after the season. If Pickens does stay, it will really test the "paint the barn red" philosophy. We know, and we have seen, that the Steelers really want to play a ball control, running offense. What do you do when you have two very explosive receivers of this caliber? Arthur Smith's is supposedly a run first coordinator, but of course when your team includes Derrick Henry and RYan Tannehill, that is what your O should look like. Does that mean he's incapable of creating an offense that centers on the receivers? Will he be allowed to open up the offense? A Higgins signing might answer that question.

[Northern_Blitz]

Paying QB money to a WR without a QB. Somehow, that doesn't add up. Especially on the Steelers.

QB money is not much, more more than $30MM / year. That's what fringe starters get now.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

The Higgins talk has made me look back on a great, and interesting draft for WRs in 2020.

1st WR taken at pick 12 was Ruggs. What a waste
2nd at pick 15 was Jerry Jeudy, who is just now starting to develop into the WR who Denver thought they were picking.
The next 3 were Lamb (17), Reagor (21), then the best of all, Jefferson (22).
As if that isn't enough, Aiyuk (25) makes it 6 WRs in the first round.
Second round starts off with a bang: Higgins (33), Pittman (34) then things go south.
That is 8 WRs by pick 34. 7 are hits, one in jail.
The rest of the second rounders are Shenault (42), Hamler (46) and Claypool (49), Jefferson (Van not Justin at 57), Denzel Mims (59).

Players the Steelers passed on at positions of need at 49 who were drafted in the second: Jaylon Johnson & Trevon Diggs at CB, Cam Akers, JK Dobbins and AJ Dillon (RB), AJ Epenesa and Raekwon Davis (DL), Jalen Hurts (QB), Ezra Cleveland (OT).

The guy who I thought was going to be picked at 49: C Lloyd Cushenberry who went at 83 to Denver using a pick from the Steelers acquired in the Bush trade debacle.

[NorthCoast]

I don't know. I can see a pathway to this happening, but it also seems more like something that is newsworthy for a few weeks and then just doesn't happen.

Question 1: Will the Bengals let him hit the market? They have Burrow and Chase coming up and apparently also want to re-up Hendrickson. All 3 will be big ticket and I don't know if another $30M player can fit under that model. I'd say that the chance is pretty good he goes.

Question 2: Would the Steelers be willing to compete for Higgins? I think they proved that they are. They supposedly had a contract in place with Aiyuk in the $28M range. Aiyuk is also a guy who is not a clear #1, but definitely a big cog in a successful O. One year later I can see the team offering a bit more for a similarly valued player.

Question 3: What does Higgins on this team mean? I agree with those who believe that it signals the end of Pickens. Under this offense, there is no use in having two high priced receivers, and Pickens becomes that after 2025. They might trade him, they might keep him for the year, but unless that year together triggers an offensive explosion, Pickens hits FA after the season. If Pickens does stay, it will really test the "paint the barn red" philosophy. We know, and we have seen, that the Steelers really want to play a ball control, running offense. What do you do when you have two very explosive receivers of this caliber? Arthur Smith's is supposedly a run first coordinator, but of course when your team includes Derrick Henry and RYan Tannehill, that is what your O should look like. Does that mean he's incapable of creating an offense that centers on the receivers? Will he be allowed to open up the offense? A Higgins signing might answer that question.

Smith had Drake London in ATL for two seasons and he never cracked 1000 yards. Fast forward to 2024 and London had 1200 yds under new HC Morris. This should tell you how Smith views WRs.

[Eich]

QB money is not much, more more than $30MM / year. That's what fringe starters get now.

I get what you're saying. But since Ben, we've had Duck, Dobbs, Rudolph, Trubisky, Pickett, Fields and Wilson. That's 7 QBs. Add up the most we've paid all of them in a year and we still haven't hit the $30M mark.

We need to keep with the cheap QBs, like maybe Fields and/or Rudolph until we hit on one in the draft.

I can't see throwing fringe-starter-QB money at a WR until we have an offense that can feed him and make him happy.

[Northern_Blitz]

I get what you're saying. But since Ben, we've had Duck, Dobbs, Rudolph, Trubisky, Pickett, Fields and Wilson. That's 7 QBs. Add up the most we've paid all of them in a year and we still haven't hit the $30M mark.

We need to keep with the cheap QBs, like maybe Fields and/or Rudolph until we hit on one in the draft.

I can't see throwing fringe-starter-QB money at a WR until we have an offense that can feed him and make him happy.

I agree with you here.

The only reason I think we have even a small chance of signing Higgins is that there are NFL mandated cash spending amounts every 3 years. We were below that amount last year. So we will have to be above that for the average of the next 2 years.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Smith had Drake London in ATL for two seasons and he never cracked 1000 yards. Fast forward to 2024 and London had 1200 yds under new HC Morris. This should tell you how Smith views WRs.

He also had QBs Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke. In 2024 he had a veteran Kirk Cousins. It might not have been all on Smith not liking receivers.