The Cincinnati Bengals have a top-five quarterback and two No. 1 wideouts who want to stay with the team long-term.
Talk about a problem 31 other teams would love to have at any point in time.
Surely, this is a layup at the rim, right? A chipshot field goal from close range? Joe Burrow wants the Bengals to keep Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on extensions.
Chase wants to be back. And Higgins does too—that much we can discern from his parting ways with agent David Mulugheta and hiring the same reps as Chase.
The Bengals don’t even have to negotiate with different agencies now.
That doesn’t mean the Bengals will get a discount. This isn’t an extend one, get the other one half-off sort of thing. But Higgins going away from Mulugheta, who would only get him a top-of-market deal outside the Bengals, says it all.
The timing of Burrow putting pressure on the front office and Chase putting pressure on the front office isn’t an accident.
On paper, there’s no issue here. The Bengals are projected to have nearly $60 million in free cap space next offseason before any tough cuts conversations like Sheldon Rankins and Sam Hubbard, among others. And oftentimes, extensions can actually lower cap hits.
It’s not like other non-Trey Hendrickson names have earned big extensions because the team has drafted and coached so poorly. It’s not like Jessie Bates stayed (as he should have) and ate a big chunk of cap. There’s…not really anybody else left to pay, anyway.
Again, on paper, pay the Big 3, get at least a new defensive coaching staff in the building, draft well, add a few free agents to the mix, and field a league-average defense. That Big 3 should do the rest.
Of course, the Bengals will still have to leave their comfort zone when it comes to contract structure and guarantees while giving out fair market price to top stars.
But a (99 percent likely) playoff miss during a Burrow MVP year—just before lease negotiations get serious—should have a way of encouraging the front office to do whatever it takes.
The players involved have apparently already met the Bengals halfway on this. Now, it’s up to the team to do the rest. And if not…
