The Cincinnati Bengals’ decision to give tight end Mike Gesicki a new three-year deal contract worth $25 million surprised some popular pundits.

“And a lot of people have been talking about this this week, but they’re just f***** because they have to take care of [Ja’Marr] Chase,. They franchise tag [Tee] Higgins,” the Ringer’s Bill Simmons said, via Sports Illustrated. “He’ll probably hold out. [Trey] Hendrickson wants a trade.

“And then in the middle of this, they paid $8 million a year for Mike Gesicki. So you guys need to find money, but you’re also gonna pay this tight end. This is the easiest position to find anybody for $1 million. I don’t understand what they’re doing.”

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell expressed a similar sentiment.

“Needing to squeeze every dollar out of their budget, the Bengals somewhat inexplicably decided to bring [Gesicki] back on a three-year, $25.5 million contract, paying him $12 million in 2025 in the process,” Barnwell wrote. “Gesicki hasn’t been that caliber of player for the vast majority of his career.”

Could Mike Gesicki be insurance in case the Bengals trade Tee Higgins?

So, why did they do it? After all, it is a whole lot of money to pay for a tight end during an offseason when three of your best players are looking for extensions, and every dollar counts in that department.

Well, it’s possible that it was an insurance move in case the organization is unable to come to a long-term agreement with Tee Higgins and ultimately opts to trade him. The organization designated Higgins as a franchise player, again, with the stated intention of locking him up long-term, but it remains to be seen if that will actually happen.

Though he’s technically a tight end, Gesicki basically operates as a big-bodied wide receiver, and paying him to be a top target for Joe Burrow opposite Ja’Marr Chase is a lot cheaper than whatever it will take to lock Higgins up on a long-term deal.

Perhaps re-signing Gesicki was a way to preemptively appease Burrow, knowing that a potential split from Higgins won’t make him happy.

Burrow publicly mentioned “Mike G” as a player he would like to see the organization hold onto. Signing Gesicki could be the organization’s way of throwing Burrow a bone before eventually disappointing him by moving on from HIggins.

This is simply speculative, not sourced reporting, but it certainly feels like a trade involving Higgins is more likely following the news of Gesicki’s contract, as opposed to less likely. If the Bengals were serious about getting a deal done with Higgins, wouldn’t they want to do that first before spending on, frankly, a less-important player?

We’ll find out what Cincinnati’s plan is in due time, but for now, it’s hard to read.