Tee Higgins to Return to Bengals Practice Amid Injury Rehab Ahead of Commanders Game

Cincinnati Bengals wideout Tee Higgins will return to practice Thursday as he recovers from a hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined for the first two games of the NFL season.

Head coach Zac Taylor told reporters that the plan is to "get him into practice today and see where he goes from there... we need him."

Injuries limited Higgins to just 12 games last season, leading to career lows in catches (42), receiving yards (656) and touchdowns (five).

His offseason, meanwhile, was centered around a long-term extension stand-off with the Bengals that included a trade request and eventually ended with Higgins relenting and signing his franchise tender. With a lucrative extension for Ja'Marr Chase looming, the Bengals chose against locking up Higgins for the long term, meaning the veteran wideout is likely in his final season in Cincinnati.

Higgins said in July that he preferred to sign the tag and get ready for the season rather than allow the contract dispute linger into the season.

"This could be the last ride for me and the guys. You never know," he told Geoff Hobson of the team's website. "Instead of holding out and waiting and just watching from afar, I'd rather be in the mix with the guys and grind it out with them. That's how I've always been.

He also pushed back against wild internet speculation last week that he was faking his hamstring injury as some sort of contract ploy.

"I just don't understand why fans think I'm faking an injury, when for me to get an extension for a contract, the deadline is over," he told ESPN's Ben Baby. "I just don't understand why they think I'm faking an injury. It doesn't make sense to me."

The Bengals could use him back. The team has surprisingly opened the season with an 0-2 record, though upcoming games against the Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers should get them back on track.