MOBILE, Ala. – Cincinnati Bengals director of personnel Duke Tobin spoke on a number of topics at Senior Bowl, including an update on where things stand with wide receiver Tee Higgins and his future with the franchise.

Higgins, 25, is no longer under contract with the Bengals. Higgins and the Bengals were unable to reach an agreement on a long-term deal prior to the start of the 2023 season. A source close to the situation told The Enquirer in September the Bengals and Higgins never got close on an extension last offseason.

Tobin made headlines with his comments on Higgins last year in late February at the NFL scouting combine when he said the franchise wasn’t interested at the time in trading Higgins for future draft picks. This year, Tobin answered a question regarding Higgins a little differently due to a change in contract status.

“Last year, Tee Higgins was under contract to us,” Tobin said on Tuesday afternoon. “He was a guy that we drafted for that reason, to be a contributor for us. He’s not under contract now so we’re going to have to work through how to do that and if it’s possible and we’ll have to go through the gymnastics of that. So it’s a different scenario than it was last year. Trading a high-level player that’s under contract just because the future might demand it, that’s never really on my mind.”

As far as what happens next with Higgins, it’s pretty simple. The three options for the Bengals with Higgins are the following: Place the franchise tag on him and keep him around for one more season at $20-plus million, tag him and then trade him to get draft picks or let him go to another team in free agency.

The Bengals have from Feb. 20 to March 5 to place the franchise tag on Higgins if they opt to go that route. If they don’t, it’s a sign they plan to let him become a free agent.

“We’ll see what happens this year,” Tobin said. “I want Tee Higgins back. Everyone on our team would like to have Tee Higgins back. Again, there’s one pie and how big of a slice that takes and what else we can’t do because of it, we’ll have to determine and we’ll see.”