Higgins finished his rookie season with 67 receptions for 908 yards and six receiving touchdowns. His 67 catches tied a Bengals rookie record set by Cris Collinsworth in 1981. The record was broken the following year by rookie wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, with 81 receptions. His 908 receiving yards ranked him third among all rookie receivers in 2020.
Tamaurice William "Tee" Higgins (born January 18, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson, where he won the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship as a sophomore, and was selected by the Bengals with the first pick in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
As a freshman at Clemson in 2017, Higgins played in 13 games and had 17 receptions for 345 yards and two touchdowns.
Higgins entered his sophomore season in 2018 as a starter. In the College Football Playoff National Championship, he had three receptions for 81 yards in the 44–16 victory over Alabama. He finished with 59 receptions for 936 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns.
In the 2020 NFL Draft, Higgins was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round with the 33rd overall pick. On July 28, 2020, Higgins signed his rookie deal, a four-year contract worth $8.6 million.
Higgins announced in September 2021 that he planned on switching his jersey number from No. 85 back to No. 5, his old college number. Higgins stated that he often saw on social media that many users were nicknaming him "Ochocinco 2.0" (in reference to former Bengals receiver Chad Johnson), with Higgins stating "I don't want to be a 2.0. [I want] to be Tee Higgins 1.0 and make a name for myself [in] this organization". However, he was unable to change his number in time for the 2022 season, instead with the change taking effect in 2023.
In Week 2 against the Ravens, Higgins had a two-touchdown game, with 8 receptions for 89 yards in the 27–24 loss. During the Bengals' Week 4 game against the Titans, Higgins suffered a rib injury and was ruled out for the remainder of that game, as well as the following week against the Arizona Cardinals. He had his first 100-yard game of the season in Week 9 against the Bills, making eight catches for 110 yards. On November 8, 2023, Higgins injured his hamstring during practice, and was ruled inactive for the following three games. He returned in Week 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
On February 26, 2024, the Bengals placed the franchise tag on Higgins.