National Football League

Bengals' Tee Higgins: ‘I wanted to go out with a bang’ if leaving Cincinnati

Updated Dec. 29, 2024 12:40 p.m. ET

Cincinnati wide receiver Tee Higgins had one of the best games of his NFL career against Denver on Saturday, tallying 11 receptions for 131 yards and three touchdowns — including a walk-off, 3-yard score — in the 30-24 overtime win.

That said, it could've been Higgins' final home game as a Bengal, with the receiver slated to hit the open market this offseason.

"It could be my last game playing here in this stadium with stripes on," Higgins said after the win. "I wanted to go out with a bang … hopefully, it's not [the end], but you never know what the future holds. You can't go out any better way."

In 11 games this season (Higgins has missed five games due to hamstring and quad injuries), he has 69 catches for 858 yards and a career-high 10 touchdowns. Cincinnati is averaging an NFL-best 274.6 passing yards per game.

Higgins missed five games last season (2023) due to rib and hamstring injuries. In the previous two seasons (2021-22), he averaged 74 receptions for 1,060 yards and seven touchdowns per season. The Bengals placed the franchise tag on Higgins last offseason but agreed to a revised one-year, $21.8 million contract with him in June.

Cincinnati also has a nagging contract situation with fellow superstar wideout Ja'Marr Chase, who leads the league in receptions, receiving yards and receiving scores this season, as he held out through the summer and remains extension-eligible. The Bengals are projected to have roughly $60 million in cap space. As a model for Chase's next contract, Justin Jefferson recently signed a four-year, $140 million extension with Minnesota and CeeDee Lamb a four-year, $136 million extension with Dallas. Like Chase, Jefferson and Lamb are all three-time Pro Bowlers.

Once 4-8, the Bengals have won four consecutive games and have a road to the postseason. Cincinnati would make the playoffs if it beats Pittsburgh on the road and the Broncos lose at home to Kansas City — who could potentially rest some of their starters, having clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC — in Week 18. Cincinnati would also need both Indianapolis and Miami to lose or tie one of their final two games. Either way, the Bengals won't have another home game this season, as they can only get into the playoffs as the No. 3 wild-card seed at best.

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