‘Warrior’ Tee Higgins Draws High Praise From His Coach, QB
By: Robert MacRae January 2, 2025

Following the monster performance by former Clemson star Tee Higgins this past Saturday, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor succinctly summed up the type of player Higgins is.

“He’s a warrior,” Taylor said after Cincinnati’s 30-24, overtime victory over the Denver Broncos.

Higgins went off in his huge game against the Broncos at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, hauling in 11 catches for 131 yards and three touchdowns to help the Bengals keep their playoff hopes alive.

“Everybody can see what kind of player he is,” Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said of Higgins after the game. “He elevates us to a different level when he’s playing like that. Lucky to be a part of what we have going on right now.”

Higgins notched the game-winning score on a 3-yard touchdown snag with 1:07 left in overtime.

The 6-foot-4, 219-pound wideout did it all on the game-winning drive, as he also came up clutch with an outstanding over-the-shoulder, 31-yard reception along the sideline to set up his walk-off touchdown one play later.

“We’d been throwing it short on them with 10-yard stops and we’d been completing some of those, so I was waiting for the right moment to take our shot there,” Burrow said of the sideline throw to Higgins that led to the game-winner. “What a great catch by Tee. Tee came up big. He was unbelievable today.”

Higgins was designated as “questionable” entering the Week 17 contest with ankle/knee injuries. But according to his head coach, there was never any doubt Higgins would play against the Broncos.

“(On) Tuesday, the first meeting we had, he brought his phone to the meeting and I was in the back of the room, and he texted me, ‘I’m playing,’” Taylor said. “So, you know, it’s early in the week so I just let those guys get their space, really, to get right. But he was sending a pretty clear message that he saw personnel on the screen and said, ‘No, I’m playing.'”

Higgins has dealt with injuries over the course of his NFL career, including this season, when he’s missed some games but done his best to battle through injury issues despite the uncertainty surrounding his future and the fact he hasn’t yet secured a long-term contract.

“He’s been resilient every step of the way, fighting through stuff,” Taylor said. “When he’s on the field, he is a warrior.”

Aside from fighting through injuries, Higgins also showed his resilience Saturday in the way he bounced back from a fourth-quarter fumble and came through with big-time plays in overtime to help lead his team to victory.

Higgins has been highly productive when on the field since the Bengals selected him in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft, amassing 326 receptions for 4,542 yards and 34 touchdowns in 69 career games.

Higgins, who has been playing under the franchise tag this season, has caught 69 passes for 858 yards and 10 touchdowns over 11 games in 2024. He was recently ranked as the No. 1 player slated to enter free agency and hit the open market this offseason.

–Photo courtesy Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images