Cincinnati wide receiver Tee Higgins had one of the best games of his NFL career against Denver on Saturday, hauling in 11 receptions for 131 yards and three touchdowns — including a walk-off, 3-yard score — in a 30-24 overtime win.
That said, it could have been Higgins’ last home game as a Bengal, with the receiver set to hit the open market this offseason.
“This could be my last game in this stadium in stripes,” 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 in a better way.”
In 11 games this season (Higgins has missed five games with 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) with rib and hamstring injuries. Over the last 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 vexing contract situation with fellow superstar wideout Jai’Mar Chase, who led the league in receptions, receiving yards and receiving scores this season, as he sat out the summer and was extension-eligible. lives The Bengals are projected to have about $60 million in cap space. As a template for Chase’s next contract, Justin Jefferson recently signed a four-year, $140 million extension with Minnesota and CD Lamb signed a four-year, $136 million extension with Dallas. Like Chase, Jefferson and Lamb are three-time Pro Bowlers.
Once 4-8, the Bengals have won four straight games and have a road to the postseason. Cincinnati will clinch a playoff spot if it beats Pittsburgh on the road and the Broncos lose to Kansas City at home — which potentially Rest some of their startersAfter earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC in Week 18. Cincinnati will 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 make the playoffs as the No. 3 wild-card seed.
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