Patriots could throw $35,000,000 offer to Tee Higgins following NFL's Salary Cap surge to at least $277,500,000, claims NFL analyst

Tee Higgins, one of the top wide receivers, could hit the open market, and according to an NFL analyst, could be subject to a $35 million offer from the New England Patriots.

On Feb 19, the NFL announced that the cap for each team this year was raised to a range of $277.5 to $281.5 million, a $53 million jump over the previous two seasons. It is significantly set to affect how teams are going to spend on premier free agents, and Higgins will likely become a matter of discussion in the coming weeks.

Brett Kollman, the creator of "The Film Room" on YouTube and co-host of the "Bootleg Football" podcast, posted how the New England Patriots could potentially spend $35 million per year on wide receiver Tee Higgins if he were to become an unrestricted free agent.

However, this seems to be all for internet chatter as the Cincinnati Bengals are expected to place the franchise tag on Higgins as the window officially opened today and will last until March 4. If that were to happen, Higgins would get a one-year, $26.35 million projected contract, and once the cap is finalized, we will know the official number.

Tee Higgins finished last season with 73 receptions on 109 targets for 911 yards (12.5 yards per catch) with 10 touchdown receptions.

Should the Cincinnati Bengals keep Tee Higgins this offseason?

Currently, the Cincinnati Bengals find themselves in a weird position where it may be better to let Tee Higgins walk as a free agent rather than signing him to a long-term contract. According to Spotrac, he is projected to sign a four-year, $101.7 million contract or $25.4 million average annual salary. That is a lot of money to assign to the second wide receiver of the team.

The Cincinnati Bengals are already locked into quarterback Joe Burrow's extension and still need to sign wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase to a potential contract of $40+ million AAV. If that were to happen with Higgins, the Bengals would be spending a large percentage of their cap on three offensive players. Notably, the Bengals have proven that they can get talented wide receivers, with Andrei Iosivas showing flashes of being a WR2 and Jermaine Burton could be a threat if the off-the-field issues stop.

The defense was the weak link for the Bengals and signing Tee Higgins is going to mean more money not being devoted to bolstering the defense.