Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins didn’t need to say that he isn’t faking an injury, yet he did anyway this week before Week 2.
Higgins, who suddenly came up with a hamstring injury before the season opener, addressed some of the fake narratives that have popped up online.
“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,” Higgins said, according to 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 “faking an injury” narrative, though, didn’t really need addressing, honestly. Most of those accusations were from social media accounts attempting to farm engagement or otherwise.
That said, things were admittedly a little strange before Week 1 when Higgins had interviews with reporters and said he was good to go, only to miss the opener.
“I prepare myself to go out here and dominate, start of Week 1,” Higgins said, per Baby. “Unfortunately, four days before the game, I have a hamstring tweak that I didn’t think was as bad, so I made the comments I did after [practice].
It doesn’t benefit Higgins to sit out like this. He’s not eligible for an extension now that the July 15 extension has passed and every game he misses is an increasingly big red flag to teams that might have an interest in him on the free-agent market next summer.
Higgins, after all, continues to steadily miss time as a pro due to recurring hamstring issues. In what is effectively a contract year, he has now missed at least two games already.
Were this anything other than a natural injury, though, Higgins wouldn’t have risked his body all summer in training camp while on the franchise tag, too.
