The Cincinnati Bengals may be without one of their key offensive players when they take on the Baltimore Ravens in a pivotal Week 11 matchup.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said that it is going to be “tough” for wide receiver Tee Higgins to play on Thursday night due to a hamstring injury (h/t JPA Football).

Higgins did not play in Cincinnati’s devastating loss to the Houston Texans this past Sunday.

It has been a relatively disappointing 2023 campaign for Higgins thus far, as he has logged just 27 catches for 328 yards and a couple of touchdowns in seven games.

Higgins, who played his collegiate football at Clemson, was selected by the Bengals in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

He enjoyed an impressive rookie campaign, playing in every game and catching 67 passes for 908 yards and six touchdowns. The following year, Higgins was even better, hauling in 74 receptions for 1,091 yards and six scores in 14 games. He then posted similar numbers last season, snaring 74 balls for 1,029 yards while reaching the end zone seven times.

The 24-year-old appeared to be on the verge of breaking out in Cincy’s Week 9 win over the Buffalo Bills when he tallied eight catches for 110 yards, representing his first 100-yard performance of the season.

Unfortunately, the hamstring issue prevented him from trying to replicate the outing this past weekend.

The Bengals saw their four-game winning streak snapped in their 30-27 loss to the Texans and fell to 5-4 as a result.

Cincinnati dug an early hole for itself this season, getting off to a 1-3 start thanks mostly in part to Joe Burrow’s calf injury that had been plaguing him since training camp.

However, Burrow began to get healthy as the campaign progressed and has even vaulted himself into the MVP conversation in recent weeks after putting together a few incredible performances.

The problem for the Bengals is that they play in the rugged AFC North division and are now in last place in the division. They sit one-and-a-half games behind the Ravens for first place.

Cincinnati is angling to make its third straight trip to the playoffs.

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