Who Should I Start? Tee Higgins or Rashod Bateman

Friday, June 6, 11:19 PM

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins said that he changed his offseason regimen looking to prevent injuries while also focusing on both speed and strength. "Get my muscles right. Make sure I know what I'm doing muscles-wise," said Higgins, who returned to his usual offseason trainer in Miami. "I did a lot of everything. I was on the track a lot. I was in the weight room a lot weightlifting." Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson writes that the 26-year-old is looking as sleek as ever after missing five games in 2024 due to soft-tissue injuries. Despite missing five games last year, Higgins caught 73 passes (one shy of his career-high) for 911 receiving yards and a career-best 10 touchdowns in 12 games (nine starts). There will be even more expectations on Higgins to stay healthy after he signed a four-year, $115 million extension in March. Higgins has never played in a full season, but if he does, he should have a great shot at reaching 1,000 receiving yards for the third time in six seasons.

Thursday, June 5, 12:03 PM

The Baltimore Ravens and wide receiver Rashod Bateman agreed to a three-year, $36.75 million contract extension on Thursday that includes $20 million guaranteed, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. It's the second straight year that Bateman and the Ravens agreed to an extension after the team gave him a two-year, $12.87 million deal that ran through 2026 last April. Baltimore is rewarding the 25-year-old former 27th overall pick again a year later after his most productive season as a pro in 2024 after he caught 45 of his 72 targets for 756 yards and nine touchdowns in 17 regular-season games (14 starts) in his fourth year in the NFL. It was a nice showing, but Bateman's fantasy ceiling remains rather low with Zay Flowers serving as the WR1 in a run-first offense. The Ravens also now have veteran DeAndre Hopkins, which means Bateman will likely be a boom/bust fantasy commodity.