Apparently, these are the numbers the Bengals need to hit to get these deals done.
We got a less-than-ideal update from NFL insider Ari Meirov about the latest with the Cincinnati Bengals and their negotiations with Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Trey Hendrickson.
“If they want to keep all three players, they got to get to $40 million per year for Ja’Marr, $30 million per year for Tee, and about $32 to $33 million for Trey,” Meirov told the Drop the Mic podcast. “They’re nowhere close on all three right now.”
Right now, Cincinnati is fighting an uphill battle. They’ve needed a shift in contract philosophy for years now. These totals are still higher than you should anticipate these players actually getting.
This definitely feels like a situation where you ask for more than you know you’ll get so you can actually get what you are looking for.
The Bengals botched the Chase and Higgins deals last offseason. They got cheap on guaranteed money with Chase (the only team left not willing to fish out large guarantees), and they thought it better to wait until this offseason to even talk extension with Higgins.
The added pressure by quarterback Joe Burrow certainly does lend itself to these players getting closer to that number than what the Bengals were intending. Cincinnati knows they can’t upset Burrow, and honestly, these are deals that competent teams get done.
Meirov also mentioned that Higgins’ and Chase’s shared agent is holding that up, as well as them messing up last offseason as leverage. In Higgins’ case, he knows they can’t tag him again, so if he is willing to play on a tag again, he can hit the open market.
Chase is also entering the last year of his rookie deal via the fifth-year option. Cincinnati wouldn’t hesitate to hit him with a franchise tag, but Chase has already had a hold-in until the start of the regular season that attributed to a slow start. Forcing him to do that again isn’t going to make Burrow happy.
There is also the added benefit of getting extensions done before free agency gives them more cap relief, as both are set to account for more than $20 million against the cap, while extensions would lower that number.
As for Hendrickson getting $32 or $33 million, he might be able to get that elsewhere, but there is almost no way he gets to that number in Cincy. Meirov also mentions Hendrickson as a guy who could get dealt if a team comes in with an incredible offer for him.
The Bengals could easily get into that $25 to $30 million range, considering what losing him would mean for a defense that was already terrible when he was the only pass rusher. That’s more than they typically would be willing to go to for a guy who will play his next extension in his 30s, but the Burrow pressure and lack of young players needing extensions probably helps them get to that point.
We will see how close each player ultimately gets to these numbers.
