Former Cincinnati Bengals star Chad Johnson offered a quick, one-word response Tuesday when asked about his former team’s decision to franchise tag Tee Higgins for the second straight year.
“Disrespectful,” Johnson told First Take host Molly Qerim when asked about the Bengals’ decision.
Higgins himself had a one-word response when the star wide receiver learned he’d been tagged Monday, writing “tag” in a post on X.
tag.
— Tee Higgins⁵ (@teehiggins5) March 3, 2025
Higgins did not elaborate, but Johnson went on at length on First Take, explaining why the move was not only disrespectful to Higgins, but a strategic error by the Bengals.
“All it’s saying, ‘The first year, you tagged me, OK, you want me to bet on myself to see if I can repeat it and do it again.’ The second time you tag me, it’s like when you like a girl, and you’re interested in her, and she puts you in the ‘Friend Zone.’
“It’s allowing the Bengals to buy themselves enough time to maybe work out a deal. But if you’d wanted to work out a deal, you would have done that a long time ago.”
Chad Johnson said the Bengals should let Higgins find a long-term deal elsewhere.
“I understand what Tee can make on the open market,” Ochocinco said. “I love Tee Higgins, I love the Bengals, I love the organization. But if you don’t value him long term, why even play this game? Let him go, let him walk. I have a great understanding, he has a great understanding of what he can make on the open market.”
“Disrespectful.” 😳
—Former Bengals WR @ochocinco on Tee Higgins receiving the franchise tag 👀 pic.twitter.com/pCzynDUvqA
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 4, 2025
First Take co-host Shannon Sharpe agreed with Johnson and even mixed in his own dating analogy.
“I agree with everything you said, Ocho,” Sharpe said. “Because it’s almost like the Bengals are betting against themselves. At what point in time did (the Bengals) realize, ‘You know what? Tee Higgins is a valuable commodity to us. We drafted him, we grew him, and now he’s matured to what we believed he would be when we selected him in the second round.’
“Either you believe in me or you don’t. But we’re not going to keep dating. I’m not going to keep having a place over here, and you have a place over there. At some point in time, we’ve got to come together.”
It’s not the first time First Take has put the Bengals in the spotlight for their inability to get contracts done for their star players, but it means a little bit more when it’s being said by Chad Johnson, who played for the franchise for ten seasons, making the All-Pro First Team twice.
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.