After the Bengals slapped safety Jessie Bates with the franchise tag, there was optimism that the two sides would eventually agree to an extension. However, USA Today’s Tyler Dragon reports (on Twitter) that the Bengals and Bates have not engaged in extension talks.
After working towards a contract extension over the past two years, Bates was ultimately tagged by the Bengals in March, locking the defensive back into a $12.911MM salary for the 2022 campaign. Bengals executive VP Katie Blackburn acknowledged that the two sides had gotten close to an extension, and she hinted that the front office could eventually reengage with Bates’ camp. The Bengals have until July 15 to sign the 25-year-old to a new deal.
“We obviously tried to get him re-signed last year,” Blackburn said.“Thought we had a good chance of getting that done but it didn’t quite get there. I think they wanted to see where the market went in free agency and at some point, we’ll circle back with him and see where we are.”
Bates had previously expressed dissatisfaction about the franchise tag, stating that the process is “tough; you only get one shot at this.” Had Bates reached free agency, he could have commanded one of the top safety salaries in the NFL. Justin Simmons, Kevin Byard, Marcus Williams, and Harrison Smith were previously thrown around as relevant comparisons to Bates; that quartet currently averages $14.8MM per season.
The 2018 second-round pick has spent his entire career in Cincinnati, including a 2020 campaign where he earned second-team All-Pro honors after finishing with 109 tackles and 15 passes defended. His numbers took a bit of a step back in 2021; Bates finished with career-lows in tackles (88), interceptions (one), and passes defended (four) in 15 starts. However, he showed up in four postseason games, collecting 20 tackles, six passes defended, and two picks.
Nate’s is average 90% of the time. He occasionally makes some big plays. I as a Bengal fan didn’t quite understand the franchise tag as he is not a top 3 safety. Which is what you are saying of the average of top 5 salary is top 3 …
We have bigger needs on the horizon with signing Burrow , Higgins and Chase …
The franchise tag doesn’t have to actually mean you think a guy is top three. It’s a one year deal, plus not every guy ever even hits free agency. He’s absolutely worth the tag.
I get it … I guess I’m just saying he’s not worth a long term deal for high dollar. Considering what the Bengals have coming up soon.
You can release Boyd and Mixon after next this upcoming year. Boyd is a 10 million dollar luxury for a 3rd receiver and Mixon has a lot of wear and tear on his body. Most workhorse backs don’t last more than 5-6 years. He only averaged 4 yards per carry. Top backs like Taylor, Chubb and Henry average 5.5
Lol, Get rid of a very good RB and slot receiver in order to over pay a good (not great) safety?! Get outta here with that garbage.
A good safety is much more valuable than a good running back.
I don’t like Mixon anyway. Plays around too much in the backfield … I know the line has sucked but I like a straight ahead runner like Henry , Bettis …. Never have liked Mixon much
This deal isn’t getting done. Bates wants top money but isn’t a top guy. Bengals have basically said that they’ve made their offer. Good for them. He isn’t worth over paying for. You can only pay so many guys top deals. Burrow and Chase will get theirs. Would u rather pay Bates or Higgins?? Seems pretty simple to me. Higgins. And if bengals have to pay a secondary player $17m/yr…I’d rather they give it to a shutdown corner than a pretty good safety.
If the Bengals don’t start guaranteeing serious money beyond the first year of deals, they’ll lose most of them.