Just when fantasy football managers were starting to see some encouraging signs from Cincinnati Bengals WR Tee Higgins, he appears to have picked up another injury over the last week. Can fantasy managers rely on Higgins in their fantasy lineup in Week 10?
Latest Injury Update on Tee Higgins
According to a recent report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Higgins was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice with the team due to a hamstring injury.
Will Tee Higgins Play This Week?
Fantasy managers of both Higgins and quarterback Joe Burrow are likely holding their breath when asking themselves this very question. The issue doesn’t appear to be too serious, seeing that Higgins did practice to start the week in some capacity. Still, a new hamstring injury to a wide receiver is always worth monitoring.
Higgins’ status becomes a bit more important with the realization that Ja’Marr Chase is dealing with a back injury and could miss Cincinnati’s Week 10 game against the Houston Texans. As long as Higgins continues to make appearances on the practice field this week, he feels like he has a strong chance to play on Sunday.
Editor’s note: Higgins has been ruled OUT for Week 10 against the Texans.
What Does This Mean for Ja’Marr Chase’s Fantasy Ranking?
Normally, an injury to Higgins would likely give Chase an immediate fantasy bump in the weekly rankings into WR1 overall consideration, with the expectation he would see additional looks in the passing game if Higgins is out of the lineup. However, with Chase also hurt while dealing with a back injury, I’m not sure an inactive Higgins would give Chase a boost at all for fantasy purposes.
Instead, Higgins would likely be the one who would get moved into top-12 consideration at the WR position if Chase cannot go against the Texans. Other players who might get a slight bump in the fantasy rankings if Higgins (or Chase) were to miss Sunday’s game would be Tyler Boyd, Andrei Iosivas, Drew Sample, and Irv Smith Jr.
Higgins got off to a painfully slow start for fantasy managers this season, failing to catch a single pass in the season opener. His slow start continued when he suffered a rib injury against the Tennessee Titans, which forced him to miss a game and see a reduced role over the next two games while battling through the injury.
Ultimately, his eight catches for 110 yards against the Buffalo Bills in Week 9 is what fantasy managers expected when they drafted him in the second or third round of drafts before the season.
Higgins can be a game-changer for your fantasy season if he can build off last week’s encouraging performance. Start him with confidence in Week 10 if he’s deemed available for this game.
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