The Bengals are sticking with their stated plans. For now, at least.

When they applied the franchise tag for the second straight year to receiver Tee Higgins, the Bengals reiterated their “intent” to try to sign Higgins to a long-term deal. Which means they won’t promptly trade him.

Via Dianna Russini of TheAthletic.com, “multiple teams” have contacted the Bengals about a Higgins trade. The Bengals have said Higgins “remains unavailable” as they work toward a long-term deal.

On one hand, it will be very difficult for the Bengals to turn his $26.16 million for 2025 and a straight shot at 2026 free agency into a long-term deal. They’ll need to make him an offer with guarantees that extend beyond this year; the Bengals typically avoid that. Even if they’re willing to fully guarantee at least two years of compensation, the dollars will not be insubstantial. Higgins can always say, “no thanks,” take his cash for 2025, and go to the highest bidder in 2026.

On the other hand, the Bengals need to placate quarterback Joe Burrow. Even if they can’t, and ultimately won’t, make Higgins an offer he won’t refuse, the Bengals need Burrow to think they tried everything they could to get it done. They need Burrow to believe that, at the end of the day, Higgins is the one who was being unreasonable.

At this point, they can’t make it look like they want to trade him. By late April, when the draft gets rolling, the Bengals might feel differently.

In the interim, other teams could host Higgins for a visit. Even if no one will sign him to an offer sheet that, if matched, would send a pair of first-round picks to the Bengals, he’s allowed to talk to anyone (as of next Wednesday). If nothing else, such a visit could lay the foundation for the moment when the Bengals believe they can persuade Burrow that the failure to sign Higgins to a long-term deal isn’t their fault.

The dance has just started. It will continue. And Higgins has plenty of moves he can make. In the end, he can refuse all offers, stay away from the offseason program, training camp, and the preseason. He can show up just before the start of the regular season, claim his $26.16 million, and prepare to sign with any team he chooses in 2026.

If the Bengals want to keep him beyond 2025, they need to put something on the table that gets him to trade in a very attractive Plan A.