“I’m Not Where I Want to Be”: With His Future Up in the Air, Tee Higgins Reflects on Underwhelming Bengals Season

Tee Higgins might just be one of the most self-aware athletes in the NFL right now. A lot is going on in the Cincinnati Bengals right now and they might just miss the playoffs. After Joe Burrow’s season-ending injury led the Bengals astray, Higgins had some self-reflection time and was stressed about not living his life to the fullest.

The Bengals wide receiver appeared in an episode of I am Athlete’s Mobil 1 series and talked about his career, family, and future. It looks like the WR is not in a good frame of mind. Maybe one reason is that he missed a couple of games, and it seemingly lessened the Bengals’ chances of going into the playoffs. Then came Jake Browning, who has been holding the team together. But again, Higgins’ revelations come as a reminder of the unsung struggles of an NFL player.

Tee Higgins on a self-reflection cruise

At the time of filming of this video, it was week 7 and things were not good for the WR. He mentioned that he is focusing on maintaining his composure and says, “I’m not where I want to be statistically, but I just got to keep my composure man, like, it’s stressful because the type of competitor I am, I obviously want to help my team produce.” Mentioned Higgins and said that for the past 3 years, he’s been so busy helping the team out that he barely focused on the goals he set for himself.

Higgins said that he needs to find a coping mechanism before his worries start to affect him in the game, not that they do as of now. The Bengals WR is taking it on a daily and is focused on being a better athlete and not overthinking about these issues. The video shows him driving a sleek, beautiful Maybach and Higgins reveals his thought process behind choosing that car.

The Maybach is quiet and gives him space to think about when he’s had a tough day at work, at practice, and in general. Speaking about thinking, he still has a lot on his plate because, according to Diana Russini, he doesn’t intend to be with the Bengals for the long haul. Also, the Bengals are straying away from their playoff dreams as the days go by.

Will Higgins stay around to help his team?

The WR2 to be exact, next to Ja’Marr Chase might not sign with the Bengals as he becomes a free agent after this season concludes. Also, there is an issue with financial compensation and Higgins believes that he can make more money elsewhere.

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He has played 9 games this season and only has 436 yards to account for it. In the past, he has had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, but this season might put a cap on his yardage. For a Super Bowl contender team, letting players like Higgins go might not be a great decision. The franchise WR salaries are somewhere around $20-$30 million and Higgins might have to cross a lot of hurdles to finally reach where he wants to be in his career.

Overall, it’s true that the Bengals started the season slowly after Joe Burrow had a season-ending injury, but then came Jake Browning. No comparisons with Burrow, but the backup quarterback has filled in more than admirably. The team is still in the playoffs race, and the wild card bid looks much more attainable after they beat the Colts 34-14 on Sunday.

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