Bengals receiver Tee Higgins is wearing No. 85 for the last season. He will switch to No. 5 for 2022 he said Thursday.
NFL rules prohibit him changing his number now.
Higgins originally told Pro Football Focus he would go back to his college number if he scored 10 touchdowns this season. He has changed his mind since, deciding he doesn’t want to follow Chad Ochocino Johnson, who wore 85 in his 10 seasons in Cincinnati.
“I keep seeing on Twitter, ‘Ochocinco 2.0,’” Higgins said, via Ben Baby of ESPN. “I don’t want to be a 2.0. No disrespect to Chad. He’s a great receiver, this and that. I just don’t want to be a 2.0 for myself, man. I want to be Tee Higgins, 1.0, number five.”
Higgins made four catches for 58 yards and a touchdown in the season-opening win over the Vikings on Sunday. A second-round choice in 2020, Higgins totaled 67 catches for 908 yards and one touchdown as a rookie.
