Tee Higgins on voluntary offseason program: I love the game, why not come in and work?

NFL: JAN 08 Ravens at Bengals
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Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins is heading into the final season of his rookie contract, and some players in that situation skip the voluntary offseason program until they get a new deal. But Higgins says that’s not his style.

Higgins, who has been participating throughout the offseason, said today that he considers it important and wouldn’t want to miss it.

I love the game, man. I wanted to come in and work. I live here in Cincinnati. Why not come in and work out? For free? End of the day, I’m just here to get my work in,” Higgins said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of TheAthletic.com.

Higgins said the people who know him know he likes to get in his work.

“My agent was even like, ‘Do what you want to do. It’s what you want to do. I’m not going to tell you what to do.’ That was my decision to come back and come work out,” Higgins said.

With Joe Burrow likely to get a huge new contract this year, and Ja'Marr Chase likely to get one next year, the Bengals may decide they don’t have the salary cap space to devote to Higgins. But as long as Higgins is a Bengal, he’s going to work.

27 responses to “Tee Higgins on voluntary offseason program: I love the game, why not come in and work?

  1. Tee is sant leavin the 513 any time soon, he will sign his extension as will JaMarr

  2. Very refreshing. It’s great to see guys like Higgins, Jalen Hurts and so many others get the value of hard work. First in, last out.

  3. Why not? Because the narrative is that the window is closed Tee. Don’t you know that? You’re really ruining the fun for all of the people that wanted you to pout and stay home and work out in your driveway like TO all those years ago.

  4. I’m not a GM and I know most Bengals fans will call me crazy, but I find Tee more valuable than Chase. Chase is a stud, a big play weapon few teams have, but Tee is reliable. He’s there when you need one catch in a huge moment. Those hands are incredible and honestly Joe throws so many jump balls that are just perfect for Tee’s abilities. I would be happy to have either, but Tee’s my favorite of the two. Tag him next year and if Chase is too tough to extend, focus on Tee instead.

  5. We all know the Mike Brown will have to trade him after he pays Burrow and Chase. He is going to be a great WR1 somewhere else.

  6. goodellthegrifter says:
    May 16, 2023 at 2:36 pm

    Mike Brown has himself in a pickle by waiting.
    ——————————————————————————————————————————–
    Umm….I know everyone just loves to say something negative but what are you talking about??
    The only thing they waited on was for him to become eligible for an extension which just happened. The only reason Burrow, Higgins and Logan Wilson are eligible at the same time is because their all from the same draft class. That`s just what happens when you draft well. Of course their not going to do Higgins and Wilson UNTIL Burrow is done first and maybe Wilson doesn`t get one but Higgins will get a new contract and he knows it. They had several trade offers if they weren`t willing to pay him.

  7. just watched a video on tiktok that might change his mind. not a lot of athletes live deep into their 80s or 90s, doubtful you’ll find any 100 year olds. anyways, athletes and people that train a lot and take good care of themselves actually lose a lot of thier longevity bc of all the sweating that they do. they are sweating out minerals and nutrients the body needs. dude in vid called it body soup buy the fact still remains, maybe don’t go so hard?

  8. just watched a video on tiktok that might change his mind. not a lot of athletes live deep into their 80s or 90s, doubtful you’ll find any 100 year olds.
    ============

    Quality over quantity.

    Sitting in a diaper, forgetting all I once knew and loved. Hard pass.

  9. Wow imagine that. An NFL star NOT crying about an extension and holding out while they’re still under contract. Ala Quinton Williams

  10. Re: pickle, I think maybe meant that Bengals can sign him now to a more modest contract relative to other receivers current market, before the market explodes like last year after C. Kirk Jaguars deal

    Also agree that Higgins can arguably be said to be wr1 in performance to J. chase statistically, but they each benefit off each other.

    Hope they keep the band together. They’ve all earned it.

  11. That’s great until you tear an ACL and lose millions when it doesn’t matter

  12. Now that is a classy way to answer the question. I would hope 99.9% of these players love the game. In order to continue to play the game they have to put in the work. So heck yeah, why not come in for voluntary work? Good place to workout, good equipment, good trainer support, and good food for free. (Well unless you happen to play for Arizona. Gotta feel bad for those players…)

  13. austinspencer says:
    May 16, 2023 at 2:45 pm
    We all know the Mike Brown will have to trade him after he pays Burrow and Chase. He is going to be a great WR1 somewhere else.

    1242Rate This

    —————

    They could put the money into the obvious Burrow and Chase and still possibly pay Higgins, but the longer all 3 go waiting on a fresh deal, it only hurts Mike Brown’s ability to do that.

    And, if Higgins walks, you may have more the unknown in 2024.

  14. Who wouldn’t want to catch balls from Burrow, especially with Chase on the other side getting all the attention? He knows he will get paid and have a good chance for a ring. Tee has a good/smart agent. This is what that looks like.

  15. cumnuri83 says:

    just watched a video on tiktok that might change his mind.
    ++++++
    you should change your mind about using tiktok as a reference source.

  16. mikecrabtreeschain says:
    May 16, 2023 at 4:27 pm
    That’s great until you tear an ACL and lose millions when it doesn’t matter
    ______________________________________________
    Is that the Lamar Jackson method? Sit out of a playoff game milking an “injury” to force the franchise to sell the farm to pay you. Go troll somewhere else.

  17. Love his attitude but I think the Bengals will eventually trade him. Burrow and Chase will most likely account for 85-90 million and Higgins is worth at least 15-20 per year. Burrow will have to be elite enough to only have one stud WR to beat KC and I think the Bengals will realize that as well and try to get max value for Higgins.

  18. chue says:
    May 16, 2023 at 5:54 pm
    mikecrabtreeschain says:
    May 16, 2023 at 4:27 pm
    That’s great until you tear an ACL and lose millions when it doesn’t matter
    ______________________________________________
    Is that the Lamar Jackson method? Sit out of a playoff game milking an “injury” to force the franchise to sell the farm to pay you. Go troll somewhere else
    __________________________________________

    Lol no Bengal player has ever been worth Lamar Jackson $. But if Lamar was Higgins agent at least he would be getting paid for wasting his career in Cincinnati instead of doing it for peanuts. Tee Higgins will regret this decision in a few years.

  19. mikecrabtreeschain says:

    Lol no Bengal player has ever been worth Lamar Jackson $. But if Lamar was Higgins agent at least he would be getting paid for wasting his career in Cincinnati instead of doing it for peanuts. Tee Higgins will regret this decision in a few years.

    ====

    Keep thinking that and enjoy the little bit of time left before Burrow gets paid more than Jackson and Jackson becomes the 3rd-highest-paid QB, soon to be 4th and counting when Mahomes re-ups.

    Speaking of wasting time, Jackson has been wasting the prime window of his entire team for 5 seasons now, coming up small every time it mattered. He’s got a great opportunity to turn that around this year, and actually earn that money, even if that money is about $100 million less than he wanted.

  20. I think “mikecrabtreeschain” lusts after the Bengals. He spends an inordinate amount of time on all stories relating to the AFC North Championship Cincinnati Bengals.

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