Tee Higgins talks Bengals voluntaries attendance amid extension buzz

Given the probable ongoing extension talks between the Cincinnati Bengals and star wideout Tee Higgins, it was very notable that he showed up to voluntary workouts.

But Higgins had a very, very simple answer when asked why he chose to arrive and put in work with his teammates.

“I love the game, man,” Higgins said, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “I wanted to come in and work. I live here in Cincinnati. Why not come in and work out? For free? End of the day, I’m just here to get my work in.”

That sort of settles that, right? At a time star players usually avoid voluntary workouts during extension talks because an injury could ruin things, Higgins had no qualms about showing up.

He also cautioned, though, that his presence isn’t a sign of how things are going and detailed what sort of advice he’s been getting on this subject, per Dehner:

Did anybody recommend Tee sit out non-mandatory portion? “My agent was even like, ‘Do what you want to do. It’s what you want to do. I’m not going to tell you what to do.’ That was my decision to come back and come work out.”

— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) May 16, 2023

It’s an insightful look to the Higgins situation and it’s not unreasonable to think an extension could be on the way this summer — sometime around the presumed Joe Burrow extension, too, especially with Burrow himself saying his extension talks keep looming deals for Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase in mind.