OUTSIDE THE HUDDLE

DROP THE 8 It took a couple of years, but Bengals star WR Tee Higgins finally got what he wanted. After three years of sporting No. 85, Higgins dropped the “8” and is now just No. 5 — a throwback to his glory days at Clemson and out of respect to Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, who wore “85” throughout his decorated career with the Bengals in the early 2000s. Higgins has been looking to do this since the 2021 season, but finances got in the way from making it happen. It would have cost him big time had he made the swap for the 2022 season because he would have been forced to buy back all of the replica jerseys that were already produced. So, instead, Higgins bided his time and waited for 2023, the final year of his rookie deal.

A GIFT FROM GOD? No one in Cincinnati was more thrilled by the first-round selection of DE Myles Murphy than senior defensive assistant Mark Duffner. According to the Bengals’ official website, Duffner bolted out of his office to celebrate with his fellow coaches when the pick was made official. “I had a Who Dey proclamation and a Thank God proclamation,” Duffner told Bengals.com. “Surprised? I think everyone in the country is surprised.”

A PART OF HISTORY The Bengals’ fifth-round selection of Illinois RB Chase Brown helped solidify a bit of history in the 2023 NFL Draft. Brown and S Sydney Brown became the first set of brothers to be picked in the opening five rounds of the same draft since Tiki and Ronde Barber in 1997. Sydney, who played with Chase at Illinois, went in the third round to Philadelphia.

TED KNOWS Ted Karras spent years playing alongside and snapping the ball to Tom Brady. Now, he’s the every-down center for Joe Burrow, who has drawn some Brady comparisons here and there since joining the league in 2020. “Yes, Joey B’s a killer,” Karras said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. “We are going to win one (a Super Bowl). It’s all I can think about.”