Tee Higgins speaks about number change, contract year, and more

Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins has a new jersey number. After wearing No. 85 for his first three seasons, Higgins went back to the No. 5 we saw him wear while winning a National Championship with the Clemson Tigers.

Thursday, Higgins made an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show and spoke about the process he went through to change his number.

“I tried to get it last year, but they wanted me to pay way too,” Higgins said. “It was about $250,000/$300,000,” he continued. “I said ‘I can play in 85 another year.”’

McAfee asked Higgins about his mindset going into a contract year, and Higgins responded with the expected answer, saying his focus is on the 2023 season, not his contract.

Former Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones was in studio for the show and asked Higgins about how his body feels after playing so many games in the last two seasons following deep playoff runs. Jones also asked him what it is like to play with Joe Burrow.

Higgins was also asked about the comments from Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin’s “Get your own receiver” comments at the NFL Combine and how those comments made him feel.

You can watch the full interview here.

Higgins seems to be in good spirits heading into the season and ready to let his agent, David Mulugheta worry about the contract.