Bengals predicted to replace Tee Higgins with explosive 5’11, 25-TD playmaker

The Cincinnati Bengals have a tough decision to make this offseason when it comes to wide receiver Tee Higgins, who will be a free agent in 2025 after playing the 2024 campaign on the franchise tag.

Higgins is undoubtedly a fantastic player and in a perfect world the two sides would like to stay together. However, the Bengals have to pay Ja’Marr Chase, and having two receivers take up a large percentage of the salary cap isn’t an ideal approach, especially when the Bengals badly need to upgrade their defense.

If the two sides can’t come to an agreement and Higgins goes elsewhere, the Bengals will have a big hole in their offense that needs to be filled. Cincinnati could have been in OK shape had Jermaine Burton not been a total disaster in his rookie campaign, but he simply can’t be trusted, leaving Andrei Iosivas as the only legitimate option behind Chase.

The cheapest route the Bengals can take to replace Higgins comes via the 2025 NFL Draft, where there are some impressive prospects. One of them is Missouri receiver Luther Burden III, who Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer projects will be Cincinnati’s first-round pick.

“The Bengals might try to keep Tee Higgins along with extending Ja’Marr Chase to a lucrative contract, but Higgins could end up being too expensive,” he wrote. “Burden could be a strong cheap bet to play well out of the Chase as an immediate impact No. 2.”

Burden finished his collegiate career with 2,263 receiving yards, 234 rushing yards and 25 total touchdowns. His best season came in 2023, when he tallied 86 catches for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns. Burden had a shade more than half the production in 2024, but that was more a result of the issues around him.

Although Burden is seen more as a slot receiver, he has the ability to play on the edge, which will offer the Bengals flexibility in deploying both him and Iosivas, who will have a bigger role in 2025.

Burden is a vertical threat and has the ability to make big plays after the catch, which would make Joe Burrow’s life a lot easier. The Missouri product would be a great addition to Chase.

We would expect the Bengals to bring in a veteran wide receiver in free agency, but having a long-term trio of Chase, Iosivas and Burden would leave Cincinnati strong at the wide receiver position for years to come.