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The topic of a new contract for Cincinnati Bengals franchise quarterback Joe Burrow has been one of the hottest all summer since both Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson got their mega-deals done in the spring.
While there is no doubt that the front office will inevitably get a deal done with the Pro Bowl signal caller and prime MVP candidate, Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger believes that they should prioritize ensuring that one of his top weapons stays put as well on a new deal.
In his recent article outlining one trade, free agent signing, or extension for all 32 NFL teams before 2023 training camp, he had inking fourth-year wide receiver Tee Higgins to an extension as the move the Bengals should make before they reconvene later this month to officially start preparing for the upcoming season.
“With Tyler Boyd entering a contract year and Joe Mixon’s deal up in 2024, Cincinnati can find a way to keep its three-headed offensive monster if the front office stays proactive and get Higgins done early, enabling them to spread out the cash and cap hits over the next several years,” Spielberger wrote.
According to PFF metrics, Higgins’ 2.08 yards per route run since 2021 ranks 13th with Miami Dolphins’ Jaylen Waddle’s 2.15 yards per route run mark being the “only player ahead of him who is also not the No. 1 receiving weapon on his team,” Spielberger noted.
Higgins Would Be Clear Cut No. 1 on Most Teams
Since entering the league as a second-round pick out of Clemson in 2020, he has been one of the more consistently productive players at his position. While he’s not quite underrated, Higgins is certainly underappreciated compared to how much more notoriety his teammate and fellow gift wideout, Ja’Marr Chase, receives from the national media.
As a rookie, he quickly established a strong connection with Burrow and still managed to finish with 67 receptions, eclipse 900 receiving yards, and haul in six touchdowns according to Pro Football Reference despite losing his eventual star signal caller for the final six games of the season to a torn ACL.
Some young receivers might feel threatened or have their numbers dip with the arrival of a top-five pick at their position but since he and Chase joined forces, Higgins posted back-to-back seasons of over 1,000 receiving yards and six or more receiving touchdowns.
Last year when Chase missed four games in the middle of the season with an injury, the Bengals offense barely missed a beat following the blowout in his first game he was out thanks in large part to how impressively Higgins stepped up in his absence.
In his first taste of being a No.1 receiver since his first year in the league, he recorded a combined 26 catches for 371 receiving yards and a pair of touchdown receptions during that stretch in which the team went 3-1 and he had consecutive games of over 100 receiving yards and seven or more receptions.
One could make a clear-cut or at least compelling case that Higgins would be the top receiver on arguably half the teams in the league including all three opposing teams in the division given his age, skillset, proven production, and durability.
The Bengals would be wise to try to keep Burrow’s band together for as long as they can or at least his two favorite targets. Next year they could let one of either Trenton Irwin or 2023 Day 3 draft picks Charlie Jones and Andrei Iosivas battle it out to see who will replace Boyd in 2024 and beyond if they can’t find a way to hold onto to their deadly trio.
Bengals Extending Elite Run-Stuffer Also ‘Makes Sense’
Another move that Spielberger noted would be sensible for the team to make sooner rather than later is signing veteran interior defensive lineman DJ Reader to an extension as well but he also understands why they might have some hesitancy.
“Extending D.J. Reader would make some sense here, as well, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Cincinnati shied away after Reader missed a lot of his first and third seasons with the team, and after the position market experienced an explosion,” he wrote.
According to Pro Football Reference, the seven-year veteran missed seven games in 2022, two games in 2021, and 11 in 2020 and has played a full season just twice in his career both of which came in his first and third year in the league when he was still with the Houston Texans.
When healthy and on the field, Reader is one of, if not the best run-stuffing defensive linemen in the entire league with the way he can consistently take on and split double teams to blow plays and ball carriers at or often behind the line of scrimmage. Spielberger’s PFF colleague, Gordon McGuinness, had him ranked No. 9 on his list of the top 32 interior defenders ahead of the 2023 NFL season.
“Reader plays a vital role in Lou Anarumo’s defense, highlighted by his 85.2 PFF grade in 2022,” he wrote. “As a run defender, he has earned grades of 69.0 or better since 2017. He produced a career-high 84.1 PFF pass-rush grade in 2022, registering 32 pressures from 310 pass-rushing snaps.
The price tag for upper-echelon and elite interior defensive linemen has undergone a significant amount of inflation since Reader signed his four-year deal with the Bengals in 2020 worth $53 million per spotrac.com.
This offseason alone has seen several defensive linemen sign new deals or extensions with average annual salaries nearly twice as much as he is making on his current deal although all of them have been far more durable and productive pass rushers in terms of sacks.
If Reader were to receive a new deal prior to the 2023 season, a comparable contract given the vital and still somewhat devalued role he plays would be that of six-year veteran Dalvin Tomlinson who signed a four-year deal worth $57 million with the division rival Cleveland Browns that averages $14.25 million per year.
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