Bengals WR Tee Higgins holds himself out of team drills during training camp

Tee Higgins suffered an injury scare on Monday. And because of that, the Bengals are going to keep one of their stars out of some team drills going forward.

Of course, Higgins already was missing a ton of the 11-on-11 drills. And the Bengals got an up close reason why at the end of Monday’s drills. Cincinnati worked out through the rain. As Higgins went up for a catch, safety Nick Scott knocked him to the ground.

Higgins did something to his leg. He confirmed after practice that he injured himself when he fell “awkwardly” on his leg.

He said limiting himself in team drills was “just a precaution.” As we said, he’d also limited those team reps last week as well.

Getting in with the rest of his teammates “feels good,” he said after Monday’s workout. He said he was discussing his participation with receivers coach Troy Walters. The former Clemson star is headed into his fourth season with the Bengals.

Here’s another reason why he might not be so eager to put himself out there during team drills. He’s up for a new contract. But he’s got to wait a bit until the Bengals work out a new deal with quarterback Joe Burrow, who is sidelined with a calf injury.

Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins attached to each other via 2020 Draft

He and Burrow are attached to each other. The Bengals selected Burrow, the Heisman winner from LSU, with the first pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. Then Cincy chose Higgins with the first pick of round two. Both have excelled in the NFL. Burrow led the Bengals to the Super Bowl after the 2021 season. Then Cincy made it to the AFC title game this past season, falling in the final moments to the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

Tee Higgins has put together near-identical seasons the past two years with Burrow healthy. He caught 74 passes in each of the last two seasons. They added up to 1,091 yards in 2021 and 1,029 in 2022. He’s a strong complement to Ja’Marr Chase, the Bengals first-round pick out of LSU in 2021. Chase has 168 receptions in the past two seasons for 2,501 yards. It’s why Cincinnati is one of the toughest offenses to defend.

The Bengals probably will make Burrow the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL. Right now, Justin Herbert of the Chargers has top honors. It’s all about timing. Jalen Hurts agreed to his deal early in the offseason with the Eagles, then Lamar Jackson did so with the Ravens. They all cracked the $50 million-plus club.

Currently, Tyreek Hill of the Dolphins owns the most lucrative contract amongst NFL receivers at $30 million per year. Davante Adams (Raiders) is at $28 million. And the Rams’ Cooper Kupp is at $26.7 million.

So in other words, Tee Higgins has millions of reasons as to why he wants to take it easy during team drills.