Cincinnati Bengals WR Tee Higgins confirmed he fractured a rib in Sunday’s loss at Tennessee, but he said he might be able to play Sunday in Arizona. He definitely doesn’t see the injury forcing him to miss multiple weeks.
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Tee Higgins Hopeful He Can Play in Week 5 Despite a Fractured Rib
The news of Higgins’ fractured rib is not ideal for the Bengals, given their 1-3 start, but the WR would not rule himself out of making the trip and seeing the field in Arizona.
“Really, it’s just up to me,” Higgins said. “Pain-wise, I might be able to go this week, I might not. You never know.”
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Higgins suffered the rib fracture in the first half while diving for a pass along the sideline. It initially appeared he caught the ball, but replays showed it came loose when he hit the ground. Higgins said when he stood up, he felt as though his back was tight and just tried to play through it. But at halftime, a scan revealed the fracture.
“Definitely tough to sleep,” he said. “I can’t lay on one side. I cough, and I feel it, but it will be alright. It hurts, but I’m a football player at the end of the day. This game is brutal. You’ve got to play through things like this.”
Higgins’ Fantasy Outlook for Week 5
This Cincinnati offense hasn’t exactly been red hot to start the year, which has left fantasy managers who invested heavily in the Bengals offense questioning whether or not they should continue to hold onto these players. It doesn’t help matters, though, when Higgins has just one game so far with more than 21 receiving yards, and he is now dealing with a rib injury.
If Higgins is forced to miss time, Tyler Boyd would see an uptick in volume and opportunity in his absence. This would likely put Boyd into the top-40 conversation in fantasy WR rankings, but the state of this offense makes him far from a sure thing in starting lineups.
If Higgins is able to make it back in time for Week 5, he’s highly unlikely to be near 100 percent, which could limit his ability to go up and high-point the football in contested situations. He may end up outside the top 30 WR rankings for Week 5, but we’ll need to see the practice reports this week before we completely determine that.
— PFN Fantasy Director Kyle Yates
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