Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was eligible for an extension for the first time in his career this past offseason.Much like what we’ve seen from fellow Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, nothing has come to fruition on this end.
With training camp getting going this week, the Bengals are seemingly running out of time to get Chase locked up. With Higgins playing under the franchise tag, it sets up a potentially disastrous situation for Cincinnati moving forward.
We do not have a great update on this front.
“It’s not so likely that this is the good time to negotiate,” Cincinnati Bengals president Mike Brown on Ja’Marr Chase contract situation, via ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “The offseason is a better time for that and we’re going to try to keep focused on the football part. I’m not going to rule anything out, but I will tell you that the die has probably been cast.”
We’re not exactly sure what Brown means by that. This is certainly a part of the NFL calendar that contract extensions get done. Jordan Love is about to land a lucrative new deal with the Green Bay Packers. There is also a decent chance that fellow wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk lands a long-term contract with the San Francisco 49ers.
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Cincinnati Bengals making mistake by kicking Ja’Marr Chase contract down the road
As noted above, Higgins is set to play under the franchise tag this season. He had requested a trade during the spring, only to decide to play out the one-year contract.
If the Bengals have to deal with both Chase and Higgins next offseason, it is not going to bode well for their chances of retaining both. It’s in this that Chase would likely be the priority with Cincinnati letting Higgins walk in free agency.
As you can see, Chase has performed at a high clip throughout his first three NFL seasons. In a vacuum, he should be following Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson in inking a massive long-term deal ahead of Week 1.
Jefferson topped the wide receiver market with a four-year, $140 million contract extension back in June. Any new Chase deal would likely slot in right behind him.
But for now, the Bengals’ cheap ways appear to be continuing. Whether that leads to issues down the road remains to be seen.
