Trey Henrickson drops eye-popping take on Tee Higgins as WR looks for new contract

Cincinnati Bengals defensive star Trey Hendrickson showered teammate Tee Higgins with praise amid what seems to be an imminent exit from the team for the wide receiver. After spending five seasons with the Bengals with a four-year, $8.6 million contract and a one-year, $21,816,000 deal after being tagged, Higgins' future appears to be far away from the Bengals.

During an appearance on Wednesday's edition of "The Pat McAfee Show," Hendrickson shared his thoughts and admiration for Higgins following a remarkable season where he proved his value to the rest of the league.

"I can't say something bad about Joe (Burrow), Ja'Marr (Chase) and Tee (Higgins)," Hendrickson said. "And you know, specifically Tee, 'cause it's a lot going on in his situation as well. For a guy to take that kind of a role where on 31 other teams he's gonna be WR1 and then here accepting a role as WR2."

After saying Higgins should try his hand as a WR1 somewhere else, Hendrickson started talking about other positive aspects of the veteran outside of football.

"I respect his game. I respect that he's very humble. I think he's a great guy, for how he handles adversity as well," Hendrickson added.

Higgins played 12 games for the Bengals this season, racking up 73 receptions for 911 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns. Cincinnati was close to making the postseason, but a rough 0-3 start prevented them from advancing further despite having a terrific offense.

Higgins' contract situation was a big storyline for this campaign, and now that the Bengals' season is over, his future is more uncertain than ever.

Joe Burrow sends a strong message about Tee Higgins' future with the Bengals

Almost a month ago, Joe Burrow sent a strong message about Tee Higgins' impending free agency. The talented quarterback clarified that he and Higgins have been building something at Paycor Stadium since 2020, and he doesn't want to lose his teammate.

"[Me and Higgins] started this whole thing together," Burrow said. "We came in together [in the 2020 NFL draft] and built this thing from the ground up. You don't want to make a habit of letting great players get out of the building. Like I said earlier in the week, Tee's a great player. A guy that does everything the right way and works really hard for it. When you have a guy like that You just can't let him get out of the building."

The Cincinnati Bengals have some questions to answer this offseason, and Higgins' future is at the top of the list.