Rashard Higgins

Rashard Higgins
refer to caption
Higgins with the Cleveland Browns in 2021
No. 17, 81, 82
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1994-10-07) October 7, 1994 (age 30)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:198 lb (90 kg)
Career information
High school:Mesquite (Mesquite, Texas)
College:Colorado State (2013–2015)
NFL draft:2016 / round: 5 / pick: 172
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:137
Receiving yards:1,890
Receiving touchdowns:12
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Rashard Malick Higgins (born October 7, 1994), nicknamed "Hollywood",[1][2] is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Colorado State Rams, earning first-team All-American honors in 2014. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers.

Early life

Higgins attended Mesquite High School in Mesquite, Texas, where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and track. He played as a wide receiver for the Mesquite football team. As a senior, he had 69 receptions for 1,136 yards 10 touchdowns. Higgins was a two-star recruit by Rivals.com.[3] He was a starter on the Mesquite basketball team, where he averaged 17 points per game.

He also excelled in track & field at Mesquite. At the 2013 District Meet, he took fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.76 seconds, while also placing seventh in the long jump with a leap of 6.68 meters (21 ft, 8 in).[4] He posted a personal-best time of 53.48 seconds in the 400-meter dash at the 2012 Rockin R Relays, where he finished fifth.[5]

College career

As a true freshman at Colorado State University in 2013, Higgins started all 14 games.[6] He finished the season with a school freshman record 68 receptions, which went for 837 yards and six touchdowns.[7] As a sophomore in 2014, Higgins was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award.[8][9]

College statistics

G Rec Yards Yds/Rec Long TD Yds/G
2013 14 68 837 12.3 56 6 59.8
2014 12 96 1,750 18.2 73 17 145.8
2015 12 75 1,062 14.2 46 6 88.5
Total 38 239 3,649 15.27 73 29 96

Awards and records

  • 2015 MW Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
  • Finalist, 2014 Biletnikoff Award
  • 2014 consensus All-American
  • Led nation in receiving yards (1,750) and receiving touchdowns (17) in 2014
  • Ranked first in nation in yards-per-catch (18.2) among players with 65+ receptions
  • Has 12 career games with 100 or more yards
  • In just two seasons, has caught 164 passes for 2,587 yards and 23 touchdowns
  • Named 2014 Male College Athlete of the Year by Colorado State Hall of Fame

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 1+3⁄8 in
(1.86 m) 		196 lb
(89 kg) 		32+1⁄4 in
(0.82 m) 		9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m)		 4.64 s 32 in
(0.81 m)		 9 ft 8 in
(2.95 m)		 13 reps
All values from NFL Combine[10]

Cleveland Browns

Higgins with the Cleveland Browns in 2017

The Cleveland Browns drafted Higgins in the fifth round with the 172nd overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft.[11] On May 13, he signed a four-year contract worth about $2.52 million, which included a signing bonus worth about $184,000.[12] He had six receptions for 77 yards in his rookie season.[13]

On September 3, 2017, Higgins was waived by the Browns and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[14][15] He was promoted to the active roster on September 16, 2017.[16] On September 17, in the Week 2 game against the Baltimore Ravens, he had a career-best seven receptions for 95 yards in the 24–10 loss.[17] In the final game of the 2017 season, Higgins caught his first two career touchdown passes – both from DeShone Kizer.[18] Overall, in the 2017 season, he finished with 27 receptions for 312 receiving yards and two touchdowns.[19] In 2018, Higgins further improved himself snatching 39 receptions for 572 yards and four touchdowns.[20]

On March 4, 2019, the Browns tendered Higgins, who was set to become a restricted free agent.[21] He caught his first touchdown of the season against the Buffalo Bills in Week 10, a seven-yard pass from Baker Mayfield that would prove to be the game-winner.[22]

The Browns re-signed Higgins on May 8, 2020.[23] In Week 7 of the 2020 season, he had his first 100-yard game with six receptions for 110 receiving yards in a 37–34 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.[24] He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Browns on December 26, 2020,[25] and activated on December 31.[26]

Higgins became an unrestricted free agent following the 2020 season. On March 19, 2021, Higgins re-signed with the Browns on a one-year deal.[27]

Carolina Panthers

On March 16, 2022, Higgins signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Panthers.[28] He played in three games for Carolina, but did not draw a target or record any offensive stats.

On April 15, 2024, Higgins announced his retirement from the NFL. Higgins announced that he would sign a one–day contract to retire a Cleveland Brown.[29]

NFL career statistics

Regular season statistics
Season Team Games Receiving Rushing Fumbles
G GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
2016 CLE 16 0 6 77 12.8 19 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2017 CLE 15 4 27 312 11.6 56 2 1 4 4.0 4 0 1 1
2018 CLE 13 1 39 572 14.7 40 4 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2019 CLE 10 1 4 55 13.8 35 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2020 CLE 13 6 37 599 16.2 43 4 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 0
2021 CLE 15 4 24 275 11.5 21 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2022 CAR 3 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Total 85 16 137 1,890 13.8 56 12 1 4 4.0 4 0 3 1
Postseason statistics
Season Team Games Receiving Rushing Fumbles
G GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
2020 CLE 2 2 7 116 16.6 25 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Total 2 2 7 116 16.6 25 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0

See also

References

  1. ^ Cabot, Mary Kay (April 28, 2020). "Rashard Higgins, Browns agree to one-year deal worth $910,000". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  2. ^ Smith, Pete (April 30, 2020). "Cleveland Browns Wide Receiver Hollywood Higgins Changing Numbers". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  3. ^ "Rashard Higgins". Rivals.com.
  4. ^ "District 12-5A Meet". Texas MileSplit.
  5. ^ "Rockin R Relays – Track & Field Meet". Athletic.net.
  6. ^ Kensler, Tom (December 17, 2013). "Colorado State wideout Rashard Higgins shining as a freshman". The Denver Post.
  7. ^ Frei, Terry (August 19, 2014). "CSU wide receiver Rashard Higgins is ready for huge sophomore season". The Denver Post.
  8. ^ Frei, Terry (November 25, 2014). "Rashard Higgins is a Biletnikoff Award finalist; Rams don't crack CFP 25". The Denver Post.
  9. ^ Lyell, Kelly (November 25, 2014). "CSU's Rashard Higgins a finalist for Biletnikoff Award". Coloradoan.
  10. ^ "Rashard Higgins Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  11. ^ Cabot, Mary Kay (April 30, 2016). "WR Rashard Higgins of Colorado State drafted by Browns at 172". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  12. ^ Lyell, Kelly (May 14, 2016). "Ex-Colorado State receiver Higgins signs with NFL's Browns". The Coloradoan. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  13. ^ "Rashard Higgins 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  14. ^ "Browns claim 5 players off waivers". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 3, 2017. Archived from the original on February 1, 2018.
  15. ^ "Browns add 3 to practice squad". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 5, 2017. Archived from the original on February 12, 2018.
  16. ^ "Browns elevate WR Rashard Higgins to active roster". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 16, 2017.
  17. ^ "Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens – September 17th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  18. ^ "WATCH: Cleveland Browns WR Rashard Higgins catches second TD pass against Pittsburgh Steelers". WKYC. December 31, 2017.
  19. ^ "Rashard Higgins 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  20. ^ "Rashard Higgins 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  21. ^ Edwards, Josh (March 4, 2019). "Report: Browns tender Rashard Higgins not Briean Boddy-Calhoun". 247Sports. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  22. ^ "Browns' Rashard Higgins: Hauls in game-winner". CBSSports.com. November 11, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  23. ^ Gribble, Andrew (May 8, 2020). "Browns re-sign WR Rashard Higgins". ClevelandBrowns.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  24. ^ "Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals - October 25th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  25. ^ "Browns place 5 on COVID-19 list". ClevelandBrowns.com. December 26, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  26. ^ "Browns make roster moves". ClevelandBrowns.com. December 31, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  27. ^ Gribble, Andrew (March 19, 2021). "Browns bring back WR Rashard Higgins for a 6th season". ClevelandBrowns.com.
  28. ^ Gantt, Darin (March 16, 2022). "Panthers agree to terms with wide receiver Rashard Higgins". Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  29. ^ "WR Rashard Higgins and LB Christian Kirksey to retire as Cleveland Browns". ClevelandBrowns.com. April 16, 2024.