Bengals WRs coach sends message to Tee Higgins: Let’s “win a championship”

Troy Walters has high expectations for the Higgins-Chase duo in what could be their last year together.

The Cincinnati Bengals made a quick and early decision to franchise tag Tee Higgins.

While there may still be some hope that a long-term deal is struck, the signs point to either Higgins playing on the tag or being dealt somewhere that will pay him top dollar to stay around for the distant future.

However, assuming the Bengals don’t trade Higgins prior to the commencement of the 2024 season, Cincinnati will have the dynamic duo of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on the field together.

Troy Walters, the team’s wide receivers coach, is thrilled about that and understands just how well they play off each other. With Joe Burrow at quarterback, Walters is setting expectations high entering the new year.

“Tee and Ja’Marr work so well together and complement each other. They love being around each other. Let’s go and try and win a championship. They complement each other on the field, off the field. In my eyes they’re both No. 1 receivers, but yet they play unselfishly and they care about each other. Hopefully, everything takes care of itself,” Troy Walters said via Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson.

The 2023 season had a ton of ups and downs, including a season-ending injury to Burrow. For Higgins, who also struggled with injury, it was one of his worst seasons as a professional, not seeing nearly the target share as in previous years.

He also had a slew of uncharacteristic drops throughout the season. Nonetheless, Higgins’ explosive and catch radius makes him one of the best receivers in the NFL, and his play could easily be one of the reasons Cincinnati can make it back to the Super Bowl.

Walters thinks so, and everyone in Cincinnati hopes that as well.