Tyler Higbee is still recovering from a knee injury -- right along with the sting of missing out on contributing on the field to his Los Angeles Rams' Super Bowl LVI triumph.
Getting a little jewelry has remedied some of his ills in those regards, however.
"I was in a dark place there for a couple weeks, but getting a ring made it all better," Higbee said Tuesday. "So, we're good now."
A Super Bowl ring signifies glory and triumph, and apparently brings with it some healing powers. Well, not exactly. Higbee is still working back to health after an MCL injury sidelined him for the Rams' Super Bowl win against the Cincinnati Bengals.
"The knee's coming along very well," Higbee said. "I've been staying on top of rehab and getting after it, started getting on the field a couple of weeks ago; they're slowly working me back in, knowing we've got some time before the season."
Last season, Higbee had 61 receptions for 560 yards and five touchdowns in 15 regular-season games. He added nine catches for 115 yards in three playoff starts before he was hobbled and left to watch the Rams win. It was his sixth NFL season -- all of them with the Rams.
Hence, Higbee had been to and played in a Super Bowl before -- a Super Bowl LIII loss to the New England Patriots.
"I was definitely fortunate to have played in one already, but my mindset now is, we have to go back so that I can play and win this year because I missed out," Higbee said. "It's tough, you put in all this work.
"It isn't just the season, it's so much work that is put in prior to the season, and then the long season that we do have and all the work that's put in behind the scenes that people don't see just from the TV or the game that are on Sundays. So, that was tough for me just not being able to get out there and show the world the work that I had put in and then, as well as playing, I mean that's the most fun game of all. That's where as a kid you see it on TV and aspire to play in a Super Bowl and that was just the toughest thing for me."
The Rams have reloaded in their bid for a repeat title, having signed linebacker Bobby Wagner and wide receiver Allen Robinson, but getting back a healthy Higbee, along with defensive back Jordan Fuller, should also bode well for their Lombardi prospects.
While the club as a whole is bent on back-to-back trophies, Higbee seems to be as inspired as them all after he was absent from the field when the championship came together in February at SoFi Stadium.
"I didn't get to play in the Super Bowl last year, so I want to go back," he said. "I'm hungry, I'm hungry for another one. I want to go play in this one. Play in this one and win another one."
For this moment, though, his knee and his mindset are feeling all right thanks to a certain Super Bowl prize.
Said Higbee: "Getting the ring has made it all better for me."
