Higgins Responds to Fans Who Think He’s ‘Faking’ Injury

A hamstring injury kept Tee Higgins out of action in Week 1 against the New England Patriots and will likely sideline him again for the Cincinnati Bengals’ Week 2 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

There are some fans who have speculated that Higgins is faking the injury due to his contract situation with the Bengals and because he doesn’t want to play on the franchise tag, but the former Clemson star wideout says that’s certainly not the case.

“I just don’t understand why fans think I’m faking an injury, when for me to get an extension for a contract, the deadline is over,” Higgins said, via ESPN . “I just don’t understand why they think I’m faking an injury. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Higgins did not practice on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday due to the hamstring injury, and his status for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs is listed as doubtful .

“I want to go out there and give my teammates a hundred percent of Tee Higgins, you know what I’m saying?” Higgins said, via ESPN. “I don’t want to give them 50% and half-ass it just to be a presence on the field.”

Higgins is coming off a down season in 2023 during which he was hampered by injuries, although he has been highly productive in his NFL career overall. Now in his fifth year in the league in 2024, he has hauled in 257 receptions for 3,684 yards and 24 touchdowns since being drafted by the Bengals in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2020 draft.

The 6-foot-4, 219-pounder had back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons in 2021 and 22, tallying 13 total touchdowns in that span.

–Photo courtesy Katie Stratman-Imagn Images