Is Tee Higgins playing today? Final status for Bengals star wide receiver

The Cincinnati Bengals headed into their season opener against the New England Patriots with questions about the status of both of their star wide receivers. Tee Higgins was listed as doubtful for the game after tweaking his hamstring in practice during the week and Ja'Marr Chase listed himself as a game-time decision as he continued to seek a contract extension with the franchise.

Tee Higgins won't play against New England in Week 1

Well, now we know the official status for both players for the game against New England. Higgins was included on the team's inactive list and unfortunately will not play in the game as a result of his injury. While it's certainly disappointing that he won't be out on the field for the opener for both Bengals fans and fantasy football owners alike, the Bengals clearly wanted to err on the side of caution and not risk any further injury to the hamstring.

After all, it's still just the first game of the season, which means that the team has 16 more games -- and hopefully some playoff games, too -- to play after this one, and they want Higgins to be healthy for as many of them as possible. Plus, a hamstring injury is nothing to mess around with. It can heal with some rest, but if you play on it too quickly, you definitely run the risk of causing further damage.

But while Higgins won't be out on the field for Cincinnati to start the season, at least Chase will be. Despite the fact that he's not expected to reach an agreement on a new contract with the team prior to the start of the season like he had hoped, Chase will play against New England.

It's great news that Chase is playing, as the Bengals obviously didn't want to be without both of their top two receivers to start the season. Meanwhile, we'll just have to hope that Higgins' injury issue isn't too serious and that he's able to get back out onto the field in short order. After all, they could certainly use him in the showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs next weekend.