CINCINNATI — Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins is confused by reports surrounding his injury status.
Higgins told ESPN on Thursday that the hamstring injury that kept him out of practice this week has nothing to do with his contract situation. Higgins has not practiced since injuring his hamstring during a Sept. 5 practice, just days before the team’s season-opening loss to the New England Patriots.
But the fifth-year player made it clear he wants to get on the field.
“I don’t understand why fans would think I’m faking an injury because I’m overdue for a contract extension,” Higgins told ESPN. “I don’t understand why fans would think I’m faking an injury. I don’t understand it.”
Editor’s Recommendation
2 Related
Higgins missed a second straight day of practice as he continues to recover.
The deadline Higgins was referring to was July 15, the last day a franchise-tagged team and player can reach a long-term contract. If no agreement is reached by then, the two sides cannot negotiate until the end of the regular season.
Higgins has sought contract extensions each of the past two offseasons, asked for a trade in March but signed the franchise tag on June 17, four days after the team’s mandatory minicamp ended. He said he signed the tag at that time when the Bengals opened training camp to focus on having the best season possible.
“I’m here,” Higgins said on July 24. “No question about it, I’m here and I’m ready to work.”
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Higgins strained his hamstring on September 5. That same day, before the injury report was released, Higgins said he felt “great” and was “ready to go” for next year. However, the injury was more serious than he realized, forcing him to miss the team’s season opener, a 16-10 home loss to the Patriots.
“I’m ready to start Week 1 and have a dominant performance here,” Higgins told ESPN on Thursday. “Unfortunately, I hurt my hamstring four days before the game. I didn’t think it was that bad, which is why I made that comment after practice.”
“I didn’t realize it was that bad until I got tested the next day. It was worse than I thought it would be.”
Bengals left guard Kordell Bolson praised Higgins’ work ethic.
“The way he works, the way he puts in the work, it’s really special,” Bolson said, “and he’s a really special player.”
Taylor said last week that Higgins’ condition would be evaluated day-to-day but that it had not yet been determined whether he would be available for Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Higgins missed three games last season with a hamstring injury and then injured the other hamstring in the regular-season finale against the Cleveland Browns.
Higgins was one of the Bengals’ top offensive players during his first four seasons. He was one of 15 players with more than 3,000 receiving yards between 2020 and 2022, according to ESPN Research. Last season, the former Clemson University star recorded 656 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 12 games.
Higgins told ESPN on Thursday that he wants to be fully healthy when he returns and make the biggest impact he can on Cincinnati’s offense.
“I want to go out there and give my teammates 100 percent Tee Higgins effort, you know what I mean?,” Higgins told ESPN. “I don’t want to just half-ass it at 50 percent effort just to have a presence on the field.”
