Report: Clemson pro Tee Higgins suffers painful injury

$Tee Higgins suffered a fracture in his ribs that will likely keep him out for multiple games. (Photo: Christopher Hanewinckel / USATODAY)$

Tee Higgins suffered a fracture in his ribs that will likely keep him out for multiple games. (Photo: Christopher Hanewinckel / USATODAY)

Brandon Rink - Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer - Sunday, October 01 2023

Former Clemson receiver and Cincinnati Bengals standout Tee Higgins suffered a rib fracture in Sunday's game with Tennessee, according to NFL.com reporter Ian Rapoport.

The injury is projected to have Higgins miss multiple games.

Higgins and the Bengals had already gotten off to a slow start with 129 yards over 32 targets in portions of four games in Cincinnati's 1-3 beginning.

The former early second-round draft pick tallied 74 catches for 1,029 yards and seven touchdowns in last year's regular season. He also topped the 1,000-yard mark in his sophomore pro season (74 catches for 1,091 yards/6 TDs) and averaged 60.5 receiving yards per game as a rookie with six scores.

The former 5-star was picked up in the 2020 NFL draft after finishing his three-year Clemson career from 2017-19 with 135 career receptions for 2,448 yards with 27 receiving touchdowns over 1,279 snaps in 43 games (30 starts). The career TD mark is tied with Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins for a Clemson record.

#Bengals WR Tee Higgins, who was declared out today, suffered a rib fracture, source said. Could keep him off the field for a bit.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 1, 2023

Tee Higgins #RuleTheJungle #Bengals

Rib fracture - what does that mean?

How much time will he miss? pic.twitter.com/djitUFDBiW
— Jesse Morse, MD (@DrJesseMorse) October 1, 2023