Wide receiver Tee Higgins will not suit up for the Bengals (4-9) in Sunday’s home matchup with the reeling Baltimore Ravens (6-7)
For the second time this season, a concussion will prevent Tee Higgins from taking the field for the Bengals against division-rival Baltimore.
Higgins missed the first game in Baltimore—a Cincinnati victory on Thanksgiving—because he was unable to clear concussion protocol from the previous week’s game against the Patriots. He returned after missing the turkey day victory, thanks in part to Cincinnati’s extra three days’ rest. Once cleared, the wide receiver joined the team for their game in Buffalo and returned to the lineup. From a production standpoint, he seemed no worse for wear, putting up a gaudy six catch, 92-yard performance, and found the end zone twice in the loss.
What’s not shown in the box score was Higgins’ repeated acrobatic contested catches against a helpless Buffalo coverage. However, not once or twice, but multiple times, fans watched as the wideout’s helmet banged hard on the turf— seemingly after every catch.
Higgins visited the blue tent twice after separate impacts and was allowed to return to play on each occasion. However, after the game was over, No. 5 self-notified trainers of symptoms suggesting a second concussion. Bells and sirens went off at league offices, but interviews and a short investigation turned up no wrongdoing by the team doctors, trainers, or specialists.
This week, Higgins has been ruled out against Baltimore (again) in a division where there is no upper hand amongst the three teams vying. It’s fair to assume that Higgins has to hit more measureables for his second concussion before he is cleared. The two are so close together, all parties will want to be sure that there is no chance for a third.
Fantasy Lowdown: This does virtually nothing to Joe Burrow’s projections, but it will make Ja’Marr Chase’s job a little harder with extra attention being paid. Slight bumps will go back to the hyper-athletic Mitchell Tinsley and red zone threat Andre Iosivas. However, the big fantasy bump is to tight end Mike Gesicki. The rapport he has with Burrow is undeniable, and when Higgins has missed time in the past, Gesicki often lines up as a wide receiver from the slot. He’s worth a look as a flex streamer while Higgins is out in Week 15 or possibly longer.
Author: Samwise (@BuyAndSellYou)
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins made his return...
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (concussion) ...
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (concussion) ...
Quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Tee Higgins led the Cincinnati Bengals on offense in their 39-34 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Joe Burrow threw for 284 yards and four touchdowns in the Bengals loss, he also tossed two interceptions. Tee Higgins was his favorite target, catching six passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns.
Tight end Mike Gesicki and running back Chase Brown were the recipients of Burrow’s other two touchdown passes. Brown added another score on the ground but only totaled 23 rushing yards.
Unfortunately Higgins also suffered another concussion in this game and his situation should be monitored, Burrow seems to deal with injuries every year but when healthy he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league and should be confidently started.
Author: David Leonard Jr. (@RealDelcoDave)
Good news for the Cincinnati Bengals as No. 2 wideout Tee Higgins has cleared concussion protocol in time for Sunday
From the banks of the Ohio, the Cincinnati Bengals (4-8) take a long trip up north to visit Buffalo in a cold-weather AFC tussle with Josh Allen and the Bills (8-4).
There is no love lost between the AFC’s two perennial bridesmaids as Joe Burrow and Allen are always “must-see TV.” The Bengals are currently trying to win every game in front of them to make a mad dash for the playoffs, just as they did a year ago. They rattled off five straight victories (three versus playoff teams) but fell a half-game short when Kansas City rested their starters against Denver.
Fast forward to now, and Cincinnati has an identical 4-8 record, but is coming off a sound beatdown of division-foe Baltimore. The Buffalo Bills are currently 5-1 playing at home, so it stands to reason that Cincinnati’s skill positions need to be in prime shape. Good news in that form came mid-week, when it was announced that Tee Higgins had cleared concussion protocol after sitting out Week 13. The Bengals will need all the help they can get against the Bills, who are still chasing first in the AFC East. Higgins is invaluable across from Ja’Marr Chase and is the last missing piece since Burrow and Samaje Perine returned.
Fantasy lowdown: Don’t expect any hitch in Tee’s “giddy-up.” The wide receiver carries with him a 40/575/7 line this season, and he’ll need to come up big against a strong Buffalo secondary. His return affects nothing else fantasy-wise aside from a bump for both Burrow and Chase and a return to fantasy irrelevance for Andre Iosivas.
Author: Samwise (@BuyAndSellYou)
Joe Burrow may be back sooner than later with surprise news of his 21-day practice window opening.
This is glorious news for fantasy managers and Bengals fans alike. Joe Burrow’s 21-day window to return to play has opened. Burrow suffered a Grade 3 turf toe injury at the beginning of the season.
With Joe Flacco at the helm, fantasy gamers have held steady, but Burrow returning is going to be well received. Flacco has been the bridge for Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins managers. Burrow has mentioned Thanksgiving as a time frame for return. Dynasty managers and IR spots are about to get plenty of relief with Joe Burrow returning.
Author: Jeremiah Retzlaff (@coachretzlaff1)
Cincinnati Bengals wide recievers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins bounce back to life with newly acquired quarterback Joe Flacco
The Cincinnati Bengals season isn’t dead yet! After playing with backup quarterback Jake Browning, who replaced the injured Joe Burrow, the Bengals traded for recently benched Joe Flacco from the Cleveland Browns. Flacco was a clear upgrade from the horrendous play of Browning. We all got to see why Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin was angry at the Browns GM for trading Flacco to division rival Bengals. The offense has come back alive as Ja’Marr Chase recorded a franchise single game record 16 catches for 161 receiving yards and a touchdown. Receiver Tee Higgins had a big bounce back also with 6 catches for 96 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers. Flacco ultimately finished 31/ 47 with 342 passing yards and 3 TDs. The Bengals are hoping to stay in the playoff mix until Burrow hopefully returns in mid December.
Chase and Higgins owners can breathe a sigh of relief. Its amazing how competent play at quarterback can be a boon for fantasy production for the receiving options on a team. Higgins was a bench option and Chase was a prayer for a random big play with Browning at QB. Now both receivers are must starts each week with Flacco. Flacco understand who his receiver are and he will give them the chance to showcase their skills.
Author: Jesse Baldwin @J_Baldwin51
Joe Burrow expected to miss at least 3 months after successful toe surgery.
The Cincinnati Bengals find themselves in familiar territory as Burrow is set to miss extended time after toe surgery. With Burrow out the Bengals will turn to Jake Browning, someone also in familiar territory after Burrow went down at the end of the 2023 season.
Browning, who’s been with the Bengals the last three seasons, has proven he can get it done at the NFL level when he took over the helm the last time Burrow was out. In 2023 Browning finished as a top 10 QB 5 of his 7 starts throwing for over 300 yards in three of those games. The offense shouldn’t see much of a dip in their production and given how poorly their defense is Browning will have plenty of opportunities to provide fantasy relevance.
Tee Higgins becomes a target in trades as some of your leagues mates may start to panic and try to unload due to the Burrow injury and you should take advantage of that before its too late!
Author: Brett Jackson (@Bjackson1189)
