Bengals' Tee Higgins Misses Practice; WR Making 'Good Progress' Amid Injury, HC Says

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins is "making good progress" in his recovery from a hamstring injury, head coach Zac Taylor told reporters on Wednesday.

Higgins is now day-to-day after being listed as inactive for Sunday's season-opening loss to the New England Patriots.

Taylor did not provide any updates on when Higgins would return to practice, per WLWT's Charlie Clifford. He did not participate in practice on Wednesday, per The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr.

Taylor told reporters last Friday that Higgins had tweaked his hamstring during practice the day prior, per ESPN's Ben Baby.

Higgins was subsequently listed as "doubtful" on the Bengals' Friday injury report before ultimately being designated inactive on the final injury report prior to the game.

ESPN's Adam Schefter said Monday on the Pat McAfee Show that he would be "surprised" if Higgins were to return in time to face the Chiefs on Sunday.

The injury is particularly concerning for the Bengals given Higgins' history of hamstring issues. The wideout missed three games with a hamstring injury suffered in practice during the latter half of the 2023 season, then was sidelined again by his hamstring during the regular season finale.

Bengals receiver Ja'Marr Chase, who was also questionable heading into Sunday's season opener amid a contract dispute and a reported illness, ended up playing against the Patriots.

He and second-year wideout Andrei Iosivas split targets evenly in Higgins' absence, with Chase making six catches for 62 yards while Iosivas hauled in three for 26 yards.

If Higgins is unable to play against the Chiefs, the Bengals will likely continue leaning on Iosivas and on Chase. But with Chase still working his way back into the mix after missing training camp amidst his ongoing campaign for a new deal and with Iosivas' prior experience limited to two NFL starts, Cincinnati will hope Higgins can return as soon as possible.