Tee Higgins says he’s stronger and faster heading into second year with Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins says he’s stronger and faster heading into the second year of his career.

Higgins, who nearly broke a franchise record as a rookie before suffering an unfortunate injury in the last game of the season, says his focus this offseason was putting on strength.

Here’s what he told the media, via Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:

“My biggest thing was to get that stronger. I didn’t do any routes, I didn’t run. I was just really in the weight room for the most part. Then, once I was able to actually get on the field and do like a workout or something I just went out there and it felt good. And then I just felt like I had to get stronger so I focused a little bit more on the weight room as well again. Now I’m weighing like 220 and it feels good. Last year I came in at like 220 and it was too heavy for me, so I had to lose a few pounds. Now it feels really good and I feel even faster.”

This shouldn’t come as any sort of shock — a player getting bigger and faster after a full year under the supervision of pro nutritionists and athletic trainers is almost a given.

Still, it’s interesting to hear it direct from the source instead of just hearing onlookers at OTAs saying that Higgins looks like a completely different player.

And that’s about as encouraging as it gets for a Bengals offense that already has Tyler Boyd and just added Ja’Marr Chase.