Cincinnati Bengals executive Duke Tobin says the team is much better with Tee Higgins on the roster.

However, unlike last offseason when he emphatically shot down the notion that Higgins could be traded, the Bengals director of player personnel left the door somewhat ajar on Tuesday.

"In terms of our intentions going forward and answering hypotheticals of what could and couldn't come about, I won't get into that, but we feel like we're a better team with him," Tobin said. "The reason we franchised him is because we would like to have him. He's not under contract and it's hard for me to predict all the different scenarios that could happen."

The Bengals officially placed the franchise tag on Higgins on Monday. That guarantees Cincinnati the right to sign Higgins to a one-year deal worth $21.8 million for the upcoming season.