Steelers Rival Tee Higgins Uses 1 Cryptic Emoji Likely To Call Out Bengals' Front Office

The Pittsburgh Steelers have plenty of issues to resolve during the 2025 offseason. One of the areas that needs to be fixed is the wide receiver position. Roughly a year ago, the unit looked to be in a decent spot, but General Manager Omar Khan made the decision to trade Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers. This left George Pickens as the only formidable pass-catcher in the group, and the front office failed to add a true difference-maker throughout the course of the calendar year. The team can't afford to let the same thing happen in the coming weeks and months as the offseason ramps up.

One major problem that Khan is facing as he prepares for the new league year to begin is that there aren't many true game-changing wide receivers expected to be available in free agency or the trade market. On top of that, the draft class is not that deep. The Steelers may have to swing big, and that is why the organization has been connected to Cincinnati Bengals wideout Tee Higgins.

There have been several reports connected to Higgins and the franchise tag, with the likely outcome being that the Bengals can get him to sign it and then control where he may end up via trade. This would all but eliminate Pittsburgh from the sweepstakes because Cincinnati would never trade the star within the AFC North. Higgins, however, may have different plans.

At the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday, Bengals' Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin told reporters that he is fairly confident that Higgins will not be going anywhere, as the organization wants to extend Higgins long-term.

Social media is a pretty interesting plays nowadays. It gives players a voice when they want to address certain situations. Higgins seemed to have a timely response to Tobin's words, but it was only one simple emoji.

The word "cap" is normally viewed as something someone wears on his or her head. In this instance, Higgins is essentially calling out Tobin, insinuating that his words mean absolutely nothing.

It seems like it would be impossible for the Bengals to have the trio of Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Higgins on the payroll, especially when Chase is expected to become the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL.

In these situations, front office members understand what the proper words are to say, and it's clear that Tobin wanted to publicly acknowledge the desire to keep Higgins around. The Bengals could be wanting Higgins feel happy about how he is being talked about to the media simply so he signs the franchise tag and agrees to be traded. However, he might hate the idea of not being able to control 100% of his journey via free agency.

Steelers Can't Put All Of Their Eggs In One Wide Receiver Basket

During the 2024 offseason, Khan seemed to be all in on San Francisco 49ers wideout Brandon Aiyuk. That ended terribly for Pittsburgh, and the franchise felt it throughout the regular season. The front office can't afford to make the same mistake in 2025, which is why relying on Higgins to hit free agency, and then sign him, is not a grand idea. Regardless, trouble is brewing in paradise for Cincinnati and the next couple of weeks will be incredibly interesting.

Do you think the Bengals will get Higgins to sign the franchise tag? Let us know in the comments below!

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