We’re two days away from the Cincinnati Bengals’ preseason finale against the Philadelphia Eagles. Every player on the Bengals’ 90-man roster will have a profile page by the end of the week. Check out previous player profiles here.

The next player on the countdown made his first-ever Pro Bowl last year.

Tee Higgins Player Profile

Age: 27
Year: 7th
Position: Wide receiver
College: Clemson
Jersey Number: 5

Tee Higgins was selected No. 33 overall in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Bengals. Prior to the NFL, Higgins played three years at Clemson (2017-19), appearing in 43 total games. He hauled in 135 receptions for 2,448 yards and 27 touchdowns for the Tigers, and helped the program win a College Football Playoff National Championship in 2018 that was sandwiched between two other CFP appearances. His last game was the title game Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase won for LSU.

Higgins would join forces with Burrow in 2020 and their connection became apparent as rookies. He posted a team-high 908 yards and and six TDs on 67 catches that season. Chase would then enter the picture in 2021, and the trio immediately became one of the most lethal offensive conglomerations in the NFL. Chase may be the top option for Burrow, but Higgins’ production alongside him has been no joke. He’s averaged 79.3 receptions, 1,116.8 yards, and 9.6 touchdowns per 17 games over the last five years. The main issue has been playing 17 games in a single season, which he’s yet to do.

A concussion took Higgins out for two games last season, but he still managed to record 59 receptions for 846 yards and a career-high 11 TDs. Only Davante Adams of the Los Angeles Rams had more with 14. That stat alone helped Higgins earn his first Pro Bowl nod.

Contract details

Higgins is entering the second year of his four-year, $115 million contract he signed last offseason. His base salary is $10,900,000 this season, and he can earn up to $2,000,000 in per game roster bonuses throughout the year. He’s already earned a $10,000,000 roster bonus, and a $100,000 workout bonus. He’s scheduled to make $22,900,000 in cash this year. His salary cap hit for the season comes out to $26,514,706 due to his $15,000,000 signing bonus from last year being prorated over the life of the contract, and only $1,764,706 of his per game roster bonuses count against the cap since he missed two games last season.

Roster outlook

Two years ago it seemed inevitable Higgins would leave to lead a receiving corps of his own. All of that contract drama is more than a year in the past, and the lifelong Bengals fan is continuing a career that could have him in the Ring of Honor one day.

Higgins is one of the most important players on Cincinnati’s roster. His presence makes it much harder for defenses to go all-in on limiting Chase, and he’s often the beneficiary of coverages that are still shaded toward Chase’s direction.

He’s right where he wants to be, and the Bengals are blessed for that.

Roster odds: 100%