<\/p>\n
What a difference a year has made for\u00a0Cincinnati Bengals\u00a0wide receiver Tee Higgins.<\/p>\n
After three years of offseason contract drama, Higgins earned a long-term deal from the Bengals. Cincinnati\u2019s front office gave the wide receiver a four-year deal worth $115 million.<\/p>\n
At this time last year, Higgins didn\u2019t know where his future would be following the season and was dealing with an injury that occurred during practice two days before the season-opener.<\/p>\n
His season didn\u2019t get off to the way he hoped. But this year, things feel completely different for Higgins.<\/p>\n
Higgins was then ruled out for the Bengals\u2019 Week 1 home game against the New England Patriots. He then went on to miss five games last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel amazing,\u201d Higgins said Sept. 4. \u201cLast year, Friday was the time I got the injury. I feel great, it\u2019s so crazy, we had the interview on Thursday, and I got hurt that next day which is crazy. But I\u2019m not going to speak that into existence. It\u2019s in the past. I feel good, I\u2019m ready for Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Higgins said his \u201cultimate goal\u201d this season is to stay healthy for all 17 games. Only twice in his five-year career has Higgins been able to play in every game. Higgins missed more games last year than ever before, prompting him to take a serious look at his body maintenance routine.<\/p>\n
He was able to participate in each practice during training camp and the Bengals seem to have a plan in place on how to manage his reps. Higgins said he\u2019s added more stretching to his pre- and post-practice routines.<\/p>\n
The Bengals have one more practice to get Higgins through before leaving for Cleveland on Sept. 6. If Higgins can get through that, franchise quarterback Joe Burrow will have both of his top targets for the season-opener unlike last year.<\/p>\n
Higgins is coming off a season in which he cemented his case as one of the top wideouts in football. He caught 109 passes for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns despite missing the five games.<\/p>\n
And although he was reluctant to go into detail about his personal goals, he did say he wants to break 1,000 receiving yards this season and if he\u2019s able to play every game like he wants, there\u2019s no reason to believe he won\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to break a 1,000 this year,\u201d Higgins said. \u201cI was close last year. I\u2019ve done it, I want to do it again. It\u2019s one of my goals.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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