With so little football news to write about so soon after the Super Bowl, ESPN has released an early NFL power rankings for the 2024-25 season, and the Cincinnati Bengals were lower than expected.
Even with Joe Burrow returning, the Bengals were ranked 13th in the league after a 9-8 record, accomplished while the team was going through injuries that derailed the season.
Ben Baby of ESPN had three words to summarize what they need to do over the offseason and that is “make receiver decisions.” Here’s more of what Baby had to say about Cincinnati’s offseason situation:
There are two big moves the Bengals must figure out this offseason. First, they need to get a sense of what a potential Ja’Marr Chase extension might look like, a tricky task considering the lack of extensions for young star receivers such as Chase. Second, they need to decide if Tee Higgins is in their short- or long-term plans, which will dictate the use of the franchise tag or a multiyear contract. Cincinnati will have to do the math to see if it can give both players the money they’re looking for while also affording QB Joe Burrow.
It was reported that the Bengals are expected to use their franchise tag on Tee Higgins next season, so one of those questions could be answered, but there is still a lot more offseason to go, including free agency and the draft, so these early power rankings are sure to change.
