Just in; Deshaun Watson Sends Strong Message to Browns Front Office
Tee Higgins topped the free agent wish list ahead of Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Higgins will be a free agent this offseason and will have suitors after a strong four-year run with the Cincinnati Bengals. In that span, he passed for over 1,000 yards in two seasons, catching 257 passes for 3,684 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Higgins became a hot topic on Watson’s “QB Unplugged” podcast, and the Browns star asked him to sign with Cleveland. “You know what’s going on with us. I know you’re rolling. We want to pass the ball and we’re going to pass it a lot,” Watson said during a live broadcast on Jan. 26. “We’ll take care of you. Cleveland fans love you and we are connected with Clemson. We couldn’t play together, but this is our chance. Just come to Hat Land.”
This is a message to the Cleveland front office that Watson wants more guns. The Browns already have Pro Bowler Amari Cooper, but could use a reliable threat like Higgins to boost their offense. Watson is expected to return to training camp after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. He has appeared in just 12 games with the Browns since being acquired in a blockbuster trade in 2022. Watson made similar comments about DeAndre Hopkins’ contract last season. Instead, Hopkins signed with the Tennessee Titans.
The Browns are praying that Bengals tight end Tee Higgins has a tough time.
Higgins is a free agent, but locking him up in Cincinnati could be a difficult task. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said he expects Higgins to return next season. “Obviously we want Tee back,” Burrow said. “He’s a big part of what we do here. There are no secrets in our relationship, so I’m waiting for Tee to come back. I think it’s the atmosphere in the locker room. We all want tea bags. We know what kind of player he is and what kind of person he is. It refers to Bengal.
Bengals coach Zach Taylor also said he hopes Higgins continues to play alongside Ja’Marr Chase. “It’s hard to imagine life without Tee Higgins. These are all stories we continue above. I spoke to Tee and have no information on him. This is something that evolves,” Taylor said. “Tee is a big part of what we do and it would be hard to imagine not being here.”
Brown will have to work with limited cap space.
If the Browns want to sign Higgins, they will need to clear cap space. Spotrac estimates the market value of his contract to be four years and $74.4 million. That would pay him roughly $18.6 million per season, which may not be a luxury the Browns can afford. The Bengals have a chance to hit him with the franchise tag and take him off the market. Cleveland needs to restructure some of their contracts, especially Watson. Currently, his fortune is estimated at 64 million dollars. Nick Chubb and Amari Cooper are other players the Browns could target in restructured deals to free up cap space.
“When you look at the contract management space, it’s not something you think about once or every year,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry said on Jan. 22. “It’s something that really lasts for years. “This is an area we have a lot of confidence in and we see this as a strategic advantage and we will continue to work on it in a way that maximizes our team.”
If Watson wants to use a new weapon like Higgins, the Browns have some catching up to do.
