Not on trade market Teams have contacted the Bengals about trading for Higgins but have been told he isn't available, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports. Impact A franchise tag can pave the way for a trade, but in this case it seems more likely to lead to a multi-year contract. The Bengals may end up rethinking their stance, however, if negotiations don't progress within the next few weeks and there's serious risk of no long-term agreement being reached before the July 15 deadline. Higgins might hesitate to sign his franchise tag (worth $26.17 million) if that were to happen, having already played under the tag once, although he'd likely still sign it before Week 1 rather than miss out on around $1.5 million each week. The Bengals hope it won't come to that and presumably have already begun negotiations for a multi-year contract.
MARCH 6 • ROTOWIRE
