CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers coach Troy Walters saw the headlines and heard the talk about the possible loss of star wideout Tee Higgins.

One day, in the middle of the offseason, Walters picked up the phone and called Higgins to find out for himself. After requesting a trade early in free agency, would Higgins hold out and skip training camp if a deal didn’t come through?

“I reached out to him and wanted to know the truth,” Walters told ESPN in October.

At the time of the call, Higgins was preparing a putt during a round of golf in Miami. When he and Walters spoke, he was assured that if Higgins couldn’t complete the long-term deal, he would accept the one-year franchise deal from the Bengals and set out to have the best season possible.

Mission accomplished, at least from an individual perspective. Although the Bengals are struggling with a 4-8 record, Higgins is in the midst of his best season, averaging 79.7 yards and five receiving touchdowns, two shy of his career best. He has caught one touchdown pass in his last three games and will look to continue that streak on Monday against the Dallas Cowboys (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN).

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Still, Higgins, who has missed five games with soft tissue injuries, has heard cynics question whether he was faking an injury to protest his contract. That didn’t sit well with the player expected to be the top free agent in 2025. And with quarterback Joe Burrow already on a $275 million contract extension and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase eyeing a market-changing deal, Higgins could be looking elsewhere to secure his next payday.

“He’s on a mission,” Walters said. “It’s a big year for him, but he’s not letting that pressure and everything else get him down.”

“He seems to be having fun. He plays with a lot of calmness.”

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This was peace was interrupted at the start of the season when Higgins missed the first two games with a hamstring injury and heard fan talk about his motivations.

“I just don’t understand why fans think I’m faking an injury when the deadline for a contract extension has passed,” Higgins told ESPN at the time. “I just don’t understand why they think I’m faking an injury. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

The soft tissue problems were frustrating for Higgins. And he plans to get to the bottom of the matter. This offseason, he said he would conduct a study to determine the root cause of the injuries. It will be similar to the study Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson underwent this year for his hamstring injuries.

In each of the last two offseasons, Higgins tried to cash in after taking on a larger role on a team that won two AFC championships. Higgins is fourth among members of the 2020 draft class with 3,684 receiving yards. The others in the top five received contract extensions through Week 1 of this season – Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings ($35 million per season), CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys ($34 million) and Brandon Aiyuk of the San Francisco 49ers ($30 million). and Michael Pittman Jr. of the Indianapolis Colts ($23.3 million).

Higgins was placed on the franchise tag, which was worth $21.8 million.

Chase, who was selected with the fifth pick in 2021 and has appeared in three Pro Bowls in as many NFL seasons, was also in negotiations for a contract that could have made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history. But a deal didn’t materialize while Chase took a break in the preseason — attending practices but not taking part in team drills — before deciding to play. He is also enjoying a career year and should be hoping for a significant extension.

When the Bengals indicted Higgins on Feb. 26, he said he knew a deal wouldn’t happen. On March 11, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported through a source that Higgins was seeking a trade.

“Of course I had to try,” Higgins told ESPN. “Who am I not to try?”

He knows he could have prolonged the situation by skipping training camp and refusing to sign the franchise tag. But as someone who has been playing soccer since the age of four, the idea of ​​perseverance seemed foreign to me.

“I know myself,” Higgins said. “I have to be in the mix of running routes, being with the guys and being around my teammates. That’s just who I am as a player and as a person. I don’t say anything to anyone. “That’s just who I am.”

While Chase sat back, Higgins worked on offense to prepare for his fifth season. During the offseason, Walters checked in with Higgins about every two weeks to see how he was doing. Amid these conversations, Walters stressed the importance of getting reps before the first week.

“You have to go through the toughening process and learn what training camp offers you,” Walters said of the discussions. “And he was on board.

“He signed. He was here on the first day and he understood that if he performs on the field, everything will take care of itself.”

One of his biggest games came against the Giants on Sunday night, October 13th, when he caught all seven of his targets for 77 yards in a win.

“Tee played a great role and started the game explosively,” Chase said afterwards. “He has strong hands and shows he is still one of the top receivers in the game.”

A week later, Higgins led the team with 82 receiving yards and a touchdown, the margin of victory in a 21-14 win over the Browns.

Higgins’ reliability in key moments dates back to the Super Bowl run in 2021, Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said. In the 23-20 Super Bowl loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Higgins caught Cincinnati’s only two touchdowns.

“I don’t think we can get there without tea,” Pitcher said. “He kind of maintained that the whole time. We have complete confidence in him. It’s his approach. It’s his behavior in big moments.”

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SITTING WITH HIS As Higgins approached a Week 8 game against the Philadelphia Eagles that he would miss with a quadriceps injury – one of three injuries he would miss – he reached into his backpack and pulled out a book suggested by Walters called “Experiencing God.” ” out of here. Sensing that Higgins was frustrated and struggling, Walters sat him down before the season in an interaction that Higgins described as “life-changing.” And it has made a difference in the way he walks into the building every day.

“It still makes me want to wake up every day in a good mood and ready to come to work,” Higgins told ESPN in October. “It’s a good feeling, brother.

“I’m not going to lie, I didn’t feel like that every day last year. I’m coming in with a great attitude (now).”

And that leads to success on the field. According to ESPN Research, Higgins hit 55.6% of his targets and missed 5.9% of them through the first 13 weeks of last season. This season he has a catch rate of 64.2% and a drop rate of 4.5%.

Still, there are areas he knows he can improve.

With free agency looming, he knows what’s at stake if he can keep his big season going.

“I’m not going to say I’m trying to have a perfect season to get a big contract in the future,” Higgins said. “I’m not saying that. I’m here to help my team win. And the rest will take care of itself.”