Bengals' Tee Higgins Out vs. Texans, Ja'Marr Chase Questionable with Back Injury

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor announced Friday that wide receiver Tee Higgins will miss Sunday's game against the Houston Texans, while wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase is questionable, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic.

Per ESPN's Ben Baby, Higgins was limited in practice Wednesday before missing Thursday's practice with a hamstring injury. Mike Petraglia of the Jungle Roar Podcast reported that Higgins was once again absent from practice Friday, while Chase did practice.

Chase suffered a back injury during last weekend's win over the Buffalo Bills when he landed hard on the ground after making a leaping attempt at a catch.

While Higgins has struggled at times this season with two or fewer receptions in four games, he is coming off his season high in yards with 110 and also matched his season high with eight receptions against the Bills.

Cincinnati's offense has been firing on all cylinders lately with four consecutive wins, including back-to-back victories over the San Francisco 49ers and Bills the past two weeks.

Quarterback Joe Burrow seemingly wasn't his usual self early in the season as he worked his way back from a calf injury suffered during training camp, which may have contributed to Higgins' slow start and the Bengals starting 1-3.

Although Higgins has a somewhat pedestrian 27 catches for 328 yards and two touchdowns in seven games this season, Chase has put up big numbers even with the slow start factored in.

Chase has reached at least 10 receptions and 100 yards three times this season, and he has accumulated 64 grabs for 697 yards and four scores.

It remains possible that Chase could miss Sunday's game, but according to Baby, the superstar wideout said the following Thursday about his status: "In my head, I'm playing, you know what I'm saying? So until further notice and anything else, then we'll see."

With Higgins officially out Sunday, veteran slot receiver Tyler Boyd will move up in the pecking order to WR2, and there is little doubt he can handle it with two 1,000-yard seasons to his credit.

Trenton Irwin and Andre Iosivas will also take on bigger roles without Higgins, and they will become hugely important if Chase misses as well.

Irwin has just 11 receptions for 101 yards and no touchdowns this season, and 29 catches for 371 yards and four touchdowns over his five-year career.

Iosivas, who is an undrafted rookie out of Princeton, has four receptions for 23 yards and two touchdowns this season.

The tight end trio of Irv Smith Jr., Drew Sample and Tanner Hudson should also be a significant part of the offense after all three of them made big plays last week against Buffalo, combining for 10 receptions for 101 yards and two touchdowns.