Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins suffered a concussion in Week 12 that kept him sidelined for the team's huge Thanksgiving victory in Baltimore.
Although Higgins was cleared to return on Sunday against the Bills, his head hit the turf very hard multiple times at Highmark Stadium. He was allegedly OK to continue playing, and proceeded to score two TDs in Cincinnati's 39-34 loss.
All that said, it was clear even in real time that Higgins was experiencing discomfort and anguish. I deemed the Bengals' treatment of him to be reckless.
The NFL and NFLPA have released a joint statement, presumably in an effort to clear up the matter. It's just not convincing in the slightest.
Tee Higgins wasn't properly cared for by Bengals, medical personnel, or anyone involved in concussion protocol
NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe passed along the statement on how Higgins' concussion evaluations were handled in Buffalo. Apparently, once the clock hit zeros, all of a sudden Higgins had symptoms that placed him in the concussion protocol.
Joint statement from NFLPA & NFL on Tee Higgins concussion matter:
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) December 8, 2025
Tee Higgins was evaluated twice in game and cleared to return. After the game, in discussion with club medical personnel as part of a postgame evaluation, he notified the team he was experiencing symptoms and was…
The statement tiptoes around the exact timeline of Higgins reporting his concussions symptoms, presumably because he held court with the media afterwards to explain why he kept playing. It was a classic case of a football player projecting a gladiatorial front.
Did Higgins make these comments before or after he reported his symptoms? Either way, it's super disturbing to be honest.
“I’m a soldier, soldiers take hits. It happens. It’s football. It’s the name of the game. Just gotta get up, next play mentality.” Tee Higgins on his day and returning from concussion, and landing hard again. pic.twitter.com/5ZQvhU7EQB
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) December 7, 2025
Higgins refers to himself as a "team-first guy" and wanted to be available for the Bengals as they fought for their slim playoff hopes.
The team-first thing for Zac Taylor and the coaching staff to do would've been to sit Higgins after the first, not second time he banged his head. The team-first thing to do would've been to preserve Higgins' long-term health for a season that will actually mean something, because the 2025 season is not one of those seasons.
Most unsettling of all is how the NFL and even the players' association are trying to paper over this situation. Their subtext suggests, "See? Our concussion protocol works. We can't control when the onset of symptoms occurs!"
Yeahbut. You can use common sense. The two times Higgins struck his head looked very bad. Just because he passed a test in real time that, you know, seems a little less than satisfactory, doesn't mean he should still go back into the game.
We still know so little about concussions and their impact. Far more than we used to when the NFL used to sweep head injury fallout under the rug entirely. Still lots to learn, though.
Higgins wasn't protected well enough. That's just the truth of it. The league office and players union are aiming to obfuscate that fact with their statement without creating any clarity on why Higgins was allowed to continue playing.
What a downer. Message to the NFL and NFLPA: Do better.
And oh yeah, while you're at it, ban artificial turf. Thank goodness the Bills are moving in the right direction on that front with their new stadium next year, where they'll play on natural grass.