Chiefs Tracking to Play Bengals Without Injured WR Tee Higgins in Week 2

The Kansas City Chiefs seem slated to take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday without Tee Higgins as the WR continues to battle an injury.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) walks the sideline in the first quarter of the NFL Preseason Week 1 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Entering Week 2's game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Kansas City Chiefs have a wide receiver injury of their own to monitor as Marquise "Hollywood" Brown is going on injured reserve. The back-to-back Super Bowl champs will be without one of their top targets in the passing game this Sunday, although their opponent should follow suit.

Bengals wideout Tee Higgins, who missed Week 1's game against the New England Patriots with a hamstring injury, sat out of his fourth-straight day of practice on Friday. As expected, that didn't bode well for his chances of being available on Sunday. According to head coach Zay Taylor, the veteran receiver is doubtful to play in Kansas City.

Tee Higgins, Kris Jenkins, Amarius Mims will be DOUBTFUL for Sunday.

— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) September 13, 2024

This shouldn't come as too much of a shock, as Higgins was never trending in the right direction. Earlier this week, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that he'd "be surprised" if Higgins was active in Week 2. The fifth-year man's hamstring ailment flared up in the days leading up to Cincinnati's season opener, keeping him out of last Friday's workouts. Now, the best-case scenario for him appears to be returning for Week 3 against the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football.

Higgins, a former second-round pick, didn't receive a contract extension from the Bengals in the offseason and is playing out the 2024-25 campaign on the franchise tag. Some have (unfairly) implied that he could be faking the injury, but he recently cleared that up when speaking to Ben Baby of ESPN on Thursday.

"I just don't understand why fans think I'm faking an injury, when for me to get an extension for a contract, the deadline is over," Higgins told ESPN. "I just don't understand why they think I'm faking an injury. It doesn't make sense to me."

Without Higgins on the field, the Chiefs' defense figures to have more bandwidth to focus on superstar receiver Ja'Marr Chase. Chase, the top target of quarterback Joe Burrow, had six receptions for 62 yards in Week 1 and played 43 snaps (84% of those available).

Read More: Despite Question Marks, Chiefs Aren't Selling Joe Burrow Short in Week 2