The Cincinnati Bengals hit the field Wednesday for the first day of training camp, and Tee Higgins was back in action.
Higgins was all smiles Wednesday, as he has been cleared to practice after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery. The former Clemson star wide receiver missed all of the Bengals’ offseason programs, but is happy that he was ready to go in time for training camp.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor told reporters that the team will ease Higgins back in during the month of August.
“It’s very exciting,” Higgins said, via Mike Petraglia of CLNS Media. “Just having that surgery just to get back 100 percent helps, and can’t wait to get back into action fully.”
Higgins suffered the shoulder injury, which was eventually diagnosed as a torn labrum, early in the 2021 season. However, except for missing a couple of games, he played through the injury and still posted a highly productive campaign before undergoing surgery to repair the torn labrum following the Super Bowl.
Although he was limited physically while recovering from the injury, Higgins used the offseason to focus on the mental side of the game.
“This offseason I wanted to improve mentally and just being able to keep my head in the game, even though we’re not in the building,” he said. “So, just looking back and seeing what I was doing wrong and things like that.”
The 2020 second-round draft pick finished 2021 with 74 receptions for 1,091 yards and six touchdowns during the regular season before adding 18 catches for 309 yards and two touchdowns over the course of the Bengals’ Super Bowl run — including his 100-yard receiving, two-score performance against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI.
After a strong season, Higgins heads into 2022 feeling like he has even more in the tank. His goal is to not just repeat his performance from a year ago, but top what he did in his sophomore NFL season.
“Just being a better player than I was last year, and that’s really all there is to it,” Higgins said when asked what he’s looking to build on this year. “Yeah, I had a great year, but there’s more out there.”
Tee Higgins all smiles as he's cleared and ready to go. #RuleTheJungle pic.twitter.com/ed1WVYPODp
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) July 27, 2022
–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
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