The Cincinnati Bengals are notorious for not talking or doing contract extensions during a season.
One NFL insider says it’s time to throw out that behavior and get wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase extended right now.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer made the case ahead of Week 15: “So I’ll repeat what I’ve said all season. Forget your precedents, Bengals. Go to Chase this week, and get him signed. He’s your second player. And happy quarterback … happy life.”
Doing so would make a lot of sense, should both sides be willing to come to the table and get it done.
That didn’t happen this past offseason when all involved seemed to wait on Justin Jefferson’s contract. After that happened, a deal never materialized, the issues bled into the season, and a report said Chase felt misled. Reports said the deal was very close, but the Bengals didn’t structure things the right way.
On the one hand, Chase wanted an extension arguably a year early. On the other, he deserves it, and his price has only dramatically increased because the market keeps climbing alongside the salary cap, and he’s in the Triple Crown hunt, with his agent even publicly celebrating how easy the extension will be.
Now is an interesting time to bring up this point about an in-season extension. The Bengals are 5-8 and the season is lost, barring some miracle in leaguewide results over the next few weeks. Extending Chase now would send a message to the locker room and fans about the upcoming offseason.
And it’s especially interesting considering Joe Burrow himself just put a ton of public pressure on the front office to keep Tee Higgins, too.
Signing Chase now, then Higgins in the offseason, would certainly be one way to keep the quarterback and fans happy.
