Difficult, but not impossible.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently reported that the Cincinnati Bengals were going to make an attempt to sign Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Trey Hendrickson to contract extensions. The report came after franchise quarterback Joe Burrow spent Super Bowl week publicly calling for the front office to do so.
Thursday, Fowler appeared on SportsCenter and showed a bit of skepticism regarding the team pulling it off.
“I’m hearing that they are going to try [to sign all three],” Fowler said. “It’s uncertain whether they can pull it off, and a lot of people around the league are skeptical. But they got Trey Hendrickson, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. They’re going to try to pull all that off if they can.”
While the Bengals may intend to extend all three of their stars, pulling it off could be difficult. Chase is projected to demand $40 million per season. Higgins’ franchise tag number is $26 million, but he should demand around $30 per season on an extension. Hendrickson essentially asked for a pay raise and extension or a trade out of Cincinnati.
The jump in the NFL salary cap is good news for the Bengals. The salary cap is projected to be $277.5 million to $281.5 million. The jump certainly helps the Bengals in terms of cap flexibility, but the hangups in most Bengals negotiations recently have revolved around guarantees.
The Bengals don’t like to guarantee money beyond the first year of a contract for non-quarterbacks, but all three of Chase, Higgins, and Hendrickson will want just that.
Do you think the Bengals can retain all three players long term? Let us know below in the comments!
