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AlbaNY_Ram
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Sure, all things considered, he is an above average TE compared to ALL TEs and collecting TOP 15-20 TE pay and now on the other side of 30.
Let's say that Higbee is just an average starting TE. Isn't being the 14th highest paid TE is fair compensation for an average starting TE? Especially considering that a few good TEs are going to get new contracts before Higbee's deal expires, pushing him further down the average salary list. (Some possibilities: Pat Freiemuth, Kyle Pitts, Dalton Schultz, Evan Engram, Daniel Bellinger, Greg Dulcich, Isaiah Likely, Colby Parkinson, Noah Gray, Cade Otton, Trey McBride, Irv Smith)
The 30 year mark might not be a big deal. George Kittle is 30, Darren Waller is 31, Logan Thomas is 32, Zach Ertz is 33, and Travis Kelce is 34. They have 23, 35, 23, 27, and 48 catches respectively this year; Higbee has 21.
Beyond all that, Higbee's extension (2 years, $17M) doesn't kick in until next season. This year - the final year of his previous extension - his salary is $2M and his cap hit is $6.4M. All things considered the Rams got themselves quite a deal for 2023 IMO.
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Last year the Rams had no established WRs and were behind often, hence more catches for Higbee. How many yards and catches do you think Higbee ends up with this year? Not projecting like much thus far this year. Higbee has been closer to mediocre catch, yardage & TD starting TE #s most years.
2022 was for sure Higbee's best year, but he also caught 61 in 2021 (Kupp's triple crown year) and 69 in 2019, which was Kupp's second best year. So it seems like Higbee does see the ball even when Kupp is having a great season. (You probably already knew this, but those three seasons with 61, 69, and 72 catches are the top three receiving years for a TE in Rams history.)
This year Higbee has 21 catches in seven games, an average of 3 catches a game ... which projects to 51 on the season. That would have been 14th in 2022, which coincidentally matches his pay slot.
A strong finish - let's say 59 catches instead of 51 - would put him 8th in that 2022 list.
And he's had strong finishes before: "Over the last five weeks of the 2019 season, Higbee ranked third among all offensive players in PFF receiving grade (91.2) and receptions (43). No player had more receiving yards (522), either." [
www.yahoo.com]
43 catches in 5 games! We won't see that again, but could he get 23? That's all it would take to get to 59.
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You are looking at one distorted year for Higbee's stats. Look at the past few years in his prime and also weigh the fact he is now entering the back-end of his prime. The Rams are not getting him the ball much in the passing game and have tons needs at expensive positions like Edge, possibly LOT and CB.
His past 4 seasons show 69, 44, 61, and 72 catches. Those are Higbee's 4 best years! He caught 11, 25, and 24 balls his first three years, and the argument can be made that the Rams locked Higbee up while he was at his best. (And in the unlikely event that Higbee's performance falls off a cliff next year they can cut him before the 2025 season and save $5.4M against the cap.)
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In total terms looks closer to mediocre or slightly above average at best. In recent years, solid is fair description.
For the sake of argument let's say he's a slightly above average for a starting TE. And he has the 14th highest average salary for TEs. If that's not the right place for him what do you think he should be making? (Higbee makes an average of $8.5M a year. Darren Waller of the NYG is the highest paid TE at $17M a year.)
