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.

With the fate of several star players in limbo, Cincinnati re-signed tight end Mike Gesicki to a three-year, $25.5 million deal, according to NFL Network . The reunion comes as the Bengals face major decisions on two star receivers — Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase — this offseason.

As the Cincinnati Bengals continue to work on getting long-term deals done with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, they were able to work out a new contract with Mike Gesicki before the start of free agency.