While the public reason for the Bengals’ lack of interest in a deal is that they are still looking to work out a long-term agreement with Higgins, as Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk notes, the optics may be as important to the Bengals as their actual plans for Higgins.

The Cincinnati Bengals have created quite the predicament for themselves with their two star wide receivers this offseason, and now neither of them are happy following Monday's development of Tee Higgins receiving the franchise tag for the second consecutive season.

Multiple teams inquired about the availability of franchise-tagged Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, but Cincinnati's appetite for parting with the No. 2 receiver remains unclear, according to reports.