Cincinnati Bengals Making Key Change With Tee Higgins This Season

When the Bengals signed Tee Higgins to a four-year, $115 million contract in March, it wasn't just about keeping the band together. It was about keeping Higgins in Cincinnati for his prime years.

It sounds like the Bengals plan on using Higgins a bit differently this season—expanding his game and moving him around more.

"That's what they are trying to get out of me, put me in different places and different spots on the field," Higgins told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "Sometimes I'm in the slot, running routes I haven't run." Higgins believes he can take advantage of that as "a big guy in the slot, usually having a nickel on me, a smaller guy."

Higgins had 73 catches for 911 yards and a career-high 10 touchdowns last season, despite missing five games due to injuries.

If he stays healthy, there's no reason why those numbers can't go way up—especially if he moves into the slot.

Higgins also made it clear that he never wanted to leave Cincinnati, even when he requested a trade during his contract dispute with the Bengals over the past few seasons.

"You put in the trade request, but you really don't want to go nowhere," Higgins told Fowler. "It's like, 'Are they really going to trade me?' And if they trade me, then I have to shift my whole mindset. I'm not with this team no more, I'm with this new team. I wanted to be here, but if I was to get traded, I would have made that shift then. I didn't want to make it too early, I would have been clocked out and I didn't want that."

The Bengals selected Higgins in the second round (33rd overall) in the 2020 NFL Draft. He switched agents, which helped facilitate a new contract in Cincinnati. Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase also pushed for Higgins to get paid.

All eyes will be on the trio this season as they try to guide the Bengals back to the playoffs.

Check out Fowler's entire breakdown on the Bengals here.