Rashard Higgins was a bright light in Baker Mayfield’s rookie season in 2018. “Hollywood” caught 39 passes for 572 yards and four TDs while consistently serving as Mayfield’s preferred target on critical downs.
The light dimmed and nearly blacked out in 2019. Higgins battled an injury and a trip to rookie coach Freddie Kitchens’ bad side. He caught just four passes in 10 games and was benched late in the year despite the team struggling.
He was a free agent after the season, but Higgins opted to return to Cleveland after being on the open market for more than a month. And he’s very happy and excited to be back with Mayfield and with the Browns.
“I want to see us prevail,’’ Higgins told cleveland.com. “I want to see us win, so I couldn’t give it up that easy. I’m not in it for the money, I’m in it for the glory. I’d rather just win with a team that I’ve been with.’’
Higgins took an optimistic route in dealing with the adversity under fired coach Kitchens.
“Everything didn’t pan out like we wanted it to last year, but there’s a lot of stuff that we can’t control and we’re just going to go control what we can and move forward,’’ he said later in the interview. “We’re just going to do us and not look back.’’
As for his chemistry with Mayfield, that has not gone away.
“It’s a trust factor,’’ Higgins said. “I trust him, he trusts me. I believe in him, he believes in me.’’
Higgins projects as the No. 3 receiver behind Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr., with competition from sixth-round rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones. He seems confidently ready for a rebound season.
