Bengals WR Higgins (concussion) out vs. Ravens
Ben BabyDec 12, 2025, 01:43 PM ET Close Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while…
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Ben Baby
CINCINNATI — Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins will not play Sunday against the Ravens, marking the second game he has missed this season while in the concussion protocol.
Higgins also missed the Bengals’ first game against the Ravens, a 32-14 victory in Baltimore on Thanksgiving Day.
He had been limited for the first two days at practice this week then was not spotted during the portion of practice open to the media Friday morning.
The recent injury-laden stretch for Higgins started Nov. 23 against the New England Patriots. Higgins took a hard fall while going up for a pass. He was on the ground for minutes before eventually being carted off the field. Higgins did not play four days later against the Ravens.
On Dec. 7 against the Buffalo Bills, Higgins was slow to get up after another hard fall at Highmark Stadium. Higgins cleared that concussion check and another later in the game after he gingerly walked off the field following a completion.
“I’m a team-first guy, you know what I mean,” Higgins said after the game. “My team needed me. I felt like they did, so I went out there and played.”
He finished with six catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns, including one after his final concussion check, in the 39-34 loss to the Bills. However, later in the evening and into Monday morning, Higgins reported concussion-like symptoms and was placed back in the protocol.
With Higgins out, wide receiver Mitch Tinsley could be in line to receive more snaps. In the first meeting against Baltimore that Higgins missed, Tinsley was on the field for 67% of Cincinnati’s offensive snaps, and he has emerged as the top backup receiver behind Higgins, All-Pro Ja’Marr Chase and veteran Andrei Iosivas.
After Tinsley had two catches on nine targets in the first game against Baltimore, one of the team’s best depth players is eager to bounce back and contribute if needed.
“For sure I would love to get more opportunities against them,” Tinsley said. “Some of the opportunities didn’t go my way last time. But whatever opportunities I get, whether it’s one or however many, it’s just about being in the moment and executing when I’m supposed to.”
In other injury news, Bengals rookie defensive end Shemar Stewart will likely remain on injured reserve as he continues to recover from a torn ligament in his left knee. The Bengals opened his practice window this week, but their first-round pick will be doubtful to play against Baltimore.
