The Cincinnati Bengals might be hot, but some concerning injuries at wide receiver are expected to leave them short-handed.
Tee Higgins, who injured his hamstring in practice on Wednesday, did not practice Thursday and is expected to miss Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per a source.
Higgins will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis going forward, per Rapoport.
Ja'Marr Chase also remains slowed by injury after taking a hard fall on his back Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, but he hasn’t been ruled out for Sunday’s game. Chase was limited in practice Thursday and told reporters he’s “day to day” following an MRI.
Higgins, who was slowed by a rib injury earlier this season, has 27 catches for 328 yards and two scores. He turned in a season-high 110 receiving yards on eight catches against Buffalo.
Chase played through the injury last week but was held to a season-low four catches against the Bills. He’s the Bengals’ leading receiver this season with 64 catches for 697 yards and four touchdowns.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has played games without either Higgins or Chase, but never both in the same game. Burrow struggling early in the season playing through a painful calf injury, but has bounced back during Cincinnati’s current four-game win streak, completing 75.8% of his passes and throwing 10 TDs.
The Bengals’ passing game is their strength, but the loss of Higgins -- and the potential loss of Chase -- complicates matters. Tyler Boyd is Cincinnati’s third-leading receiver and figures to play extensively either way. The Bengals also have Trenton Irwin, Andrei Iosivas and Charlie Jones available after being activated off injured reserve this past week.