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Ben Baby, ESPN Staff Writer
CINCINNATI — It didn’t matter where Tee Higgins was lined up during the joint practice against the Chicago Bears on Aug. 15.
The defenders made sure to communicate where the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver was on the field. Even when he wasn’t the primary target on a given play, the Bears defenders would bark out “Tee’s over here!” as an alert for the team’s top available playmaker.
For the past two years, Higgins has wanted to show that he’s capable of being a No. 1 wide receiver. With Ja’Marr Chase absent while he awaits a new contract, Higgins has had the opportunity to step into that role and is making the most of it.
That could help Higgins eventually cash in when his contract expires at the end of the season.
“He’s on a mission,” said Mike Hilton, Cincinnati’s veteran starting slot cornerback. “He knows what’s at the end of the road this season. Whether it’s here or somewhere else, he has a great opportunity ahead of him.
“You can tell he’s head-down, focused on his job and ready to help us win.”
That was apparent in Tuesday’s joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts. Higgins made two big grabs — one jump ball on the left sideline and a one-on-one matchup on the opposite sideline that also yielded a completion from quarterback Joe Burrow. They were two of the more notable plays from an otherwise mundane offensive showing.
Cincinnati has been without Chase all training camp. Even though he has two years left on his contract, including his fifth-year rookie option, Chase hasn’t participated in practice without a new deal in place.
That means when Higgins has been on the field, he has been Burrow’s primary target. Cincinnati has managed Higgins’ workload through training camp to make sure he’s healthy for the season. In his first four seasons, Higgins has struggled with soft tissue injuries, including hamstring issues that forced him to miss four games last season.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said the load management during training camp was a byproduct of “protecting him from himself.” But he has shown everything the Bengals need to see from him in order to feel good about his status for the season opener on Sept. 8 against the New England Patriots.
“He looks as good as he’s ever looked,” Taylor said. “He’s running well, doing a good job with the detail of stuff, competing.”
In February 2023, Higgins told ESPN’s “First Take” that he played like a No. 1 wide receiver while Chase battled an injury. However, the accompanying payday never came. Higgins and the Bengals failed to reach an agreement on a long-term deal. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the closest the sides got to a deal this offseason was when the Bengals gave him the franchise tag worth $21.8 million.
Of the eight players given the franchise tag this offseason, Higgins was the only one not to eventually receive a new contract, either from his current club or a new club following a trade.
But that didn’t affect Higgins as he prepared for training camp. He signed the tag on June 17 so he could eliminate any distractions ahead of the season.
“It’s just good to not see my name on the headlines, you know what I’m saying?” Higgins said after the first camp practice on July 24. “It’s just good to get it done just so I could focus on myself.”
Hilton, who has been Cincinnati’s starting slot cornerback the past three seasons, noted Higgins’ growth over that period. Higgins has improved his route running and explosiveness cutting in and out of his breaks, Hilton said, which has proven to be very effective when paired with his 6-4 frame and 81-inch wingspan.
“He’s just showing that he can be a No. 1 [receiver],” Hilton said.
It’s unclear when Chase will return to the field. Should he miss games, it could be Higgins’ biggest chance to show the Bengals and other NFL teams why he should be a prized free agent next offseason.
In his first four years, Higgins already has two 1,000-yard seasons. Since he entered the league in 2021, he is 1 of 15 players to have 10 or more 100-yard games, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Given those numbers and what he has done during training camp, it’s easy to see why the Bears wanted to know where Higgins was at all times, even if it was only a joint practice.
Said Bengals assistant Troy Walters: “If he’s consistent through 17 games, he’s a top five, [top] seven receiver.”