NFL Trade Rumors: Cincinnati Bengals Wide Receiver Tee Higgins Set to Return for Week 3

The Cincinnati Bengals are about to get some much-needed reinforcements. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins will make his long-awaited return to action in tonight's Monday Night Football showdown with the Washington Commanders.

From @GMFB: The #Bengals will get WR Tee Higgins (hamstring) back tonight, while the #Jaguars won't have TE Evan Engram (hamstring). pic.twitter.com/AunsEzgE38
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 23, 2024

Higgins missed the first two games of the season due to a hamstring injury suffered after a fraught offseason that included a franchise tag and failed extension negotiations. The Bengals quickly fell into an 0-2 hole while averaging a middling 272 yards per game.

Still, expecting Higgins to single-handedly transform the Bengals' fortunes is a tall order. He's coming off a disappointing 2023 season, setting career lows in receptions (42), receiving yards (656), and touchdowns (5).

Ultimately, the Bengals and Higgins need each other. At his peak, Higgins has definitely been an above-average receiver: He totalled 3028 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns at an efficient 9.3 yards per target from 2020 to 2022. That sort of production is exactly what the Bengals need and exactly what will earn Higgins a lucrative extension this offseason.

Higgins will have every chance to get off to a hot start. The Commanders allowed an NFL-worst 30.5 points per game in 2023, and they're off to a similarly hapless 27.5 points per game this season. If the Bengals are going to turn their season around, it needs to begin tonight.