Hayden Hurst: 'Say Whatever You Want About Me'

The Bengals tight end is focused on the Chiefs matchup and not all of the trash talk surrounding him.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Updated:
Dec 1, 2022 3:27 PM EST
Original:
Dec 1, 2022

In this story:

CINCINNATI — The Bengals got into a back-and-forth exchange with Chiefs safety Justin Reid this week when Reid called out Hayden Hurst in a bizarre clip that saw the safety mistake Hurst for Tee Higgins.

“They have 88 Higbee—no, not Higbee, he’s with the Rams—what’s his name? It’s Higgins, yeah they’re gonna have him back, he’s a very talented receiver, more of a finesse type of guy, not the best blocker, I’m gonna lock him down,” Reid told reporters in Kansas City.

Hurst had a message for Reid when he met with the media on Thursday. The former Ravens and Falcons tight end is pacing toward the highest single-season catch total of his career.

"Everybody is entitled to their own opinion," Hurst said. "Say whatever you want about me, I don't really give a s***."

Hurst made it clear he has no prior history with Reid and had a look on his face like he wanted to say more but is letting his play do most of the talking.

"I understand what the point of the interview was, again, doesn't really faze me, say whatever you want to say about me. I've been called way worse. So, doesn't matter," Hurst continued. "That's definitely the first guy who's going to attempt to cover me that said something about me or to me or I guess whoever he thought he was talking about, don't really care."

A fitting use of the word attempt from Hurst. Reid has been flat-out bad in 2022. According to PFF, he's allowed 75% of targets into his coverage area to get caught for a 114.4 passer rating and his current coverage grade ranks 42nd out of 50 safeties (60.0).

“Whoever he thought he was talking about, I don’t really care,” Hurst concluded. “You can pick anybody in this locker room, but I feel like I’m the last person you want to talk shit about because I have a long memory.”

Hurst coincidentally made Higgins wear his old college jersey at South Carolina because the Gamecocks beat Higgins Tigers last week.

The victory snapped Clemson's nation-leading 40-game home win streak. The Bengals are hoping to snap the Chiefs five-game win streak on Sunday.

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