Cincinnati Bengals fans are undoubtedly having déjà vu right about now. As expected, franchise-tagged wideout Tee Higgins won't be attending OTAs anytime soon. He hasn't signed the actual franchise tag yet, which isn't much of a surprise.
Here's the kicker: this is the exact same situation that played out last year with star safety Jessie Bates. Bates, who now plays in Atlanta, shares the same agent as Higgins. This has naturally come up in interviews with Bates. Talking to ESPN's Marc Raimondi, Bates said, "I've been through that process with the franchise tag, and I let it weigh on me more than I should have. It affected my play and how I was living my day-to-day life. So, my advice for Tee is to focus on your craft. It doesn't matter if it's a contract year. Every year is a contract year. Go out there, ball out, and train like it's your last year to play."
Bates was very open about how the contract situation impacted his performance last year, though he still managed to deliver a strong playoff push before moving on in free agency.
While there's no way to tell if Higgins will face similar struggles given these parallels, the expectation is that he will likely report and sign the tag during training camp as the season approaches.
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