A single phrase has chased the Cincinnati Bengals around for the better part of a year now: “Extend Jessie Bates.”
That came from fans, but also from players, even at the end of press conferences. Everyone wants to see the Bengals retain the star safety, who is slated to be a free agent next month.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor recently touched on the topic:
“He’s a big part of what we do. We’re really proud of how he’s led this team and how he’s played for us, really over the last four years. Those are conversations that will always be ongoing. I think everyone knows we want Jessie to be a part of this, and we’ll just continue to work through those discussions.”
And now two defenders — corner Mike Hilton and linebacker Logan Wilson — have gone public with it again:
I’ll second that
— Logan Wilson (@ljw21) February 20, 2022
Odds are the Bengals will either work out a long-term deal with Bates or apply the franchise tag. Either way, they’re not going to let one of the rangier, better safeties in the league who just had a stellar postseason get away.
A little added pressure from players to keep the current defense together, though, never hurts.
