Tee Higgins’ mother seemingly knows how to send the internet into an uproar.
With the Bengals reportedly set to franchise tag her son during the window which opens Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, Camilla Stewart tweeted a flammable comment Monday night that some connected to the situation.
“Selfish bastards,” Stewart posted Monday night.
Stewart, however, made it clear that her remark did not have to do with the Bengals.
She responded to a fan stating she’s pissed with, “I’m not,” and when a fan said to tell them that the post wasn’t about the Bengals, she responded, “It’s not.”
That Stewart’s tweet could send Bengals fans into a tizzy shows the delicate situation surrounding the receiver and his future with the team.
Higgins, 26, is arguably the best free agent among skill players in this year’s class and there figures to be a bidding war should he hit free agency.
The Bengals can franchise tag Higgins for a second straight season this year and they reportedly plan to do so, according to Sports Illustrated.
Stewart’s tweet connects to the back-to-back tags since the Bengals would be preventing Higgins from hittong free agency, where he could potentially earn more than the franchise tag.
ESPN further reported that Cincinnati will attempt to keep Higgins, fellow start receiver Ja’Marr Chase and stud pass rusher Trey Hendrickson with the franchise for years to come.
With Joe Burrow already being paid and the Bengals needing massive help on defense, some have questioned whether it makes sense to pay premium money to two receivers in Chase and Higgins.
Securing Chase would likely be priority No. 1 for the Bengals since he’s a generational talent.
Higgins has shown he is perhaps the NFL’s best No. 2 receiver, tallying 911 yards and a career-best 10 touchdowns in just nine games this season, and he could be a No. 1 on lots of teams.
Those teams could spend on Higgins with less concern than the Bengals, since only two squads — Eagles and Dolphins — have more than $50 million committed to their top two receivers, per overthecap.com.
One notable factor in the Bengals’ goals of keeping their passing attack together is that Burrow has said he will do what he can to ensure Higgins doesn’t leave.
“You could convert some of the money to a signing bonus, which will lower the cap hit,” Burrow said on a recent “Pardon My Take,” episode, as transcribed by ESPN. “You can push some of the money to the back end of the contract. That lowers the cap hit. And then when you get to the back end of the contract, you can restructure it and convert it to a signing bonus. You can also just take less money.”
