Why the **** is Jessie Bates not signed yet?

[Whatever]

(04-20-2022, 11:13 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: Yes, he could do all of that, but he would get a check for 6 games, not 17. He would lose a ton of money and still risk injury. He would lose in $8 million if he sat out 11 games.

That's true, but we're also talking reducing his chance of being injured in the regular season by 65% and reducing his chances of being injured in OTA's, TC, and preseason to 0%.  

Another very real possibility is Bates doesn't sign the FT at all and sits out the entire year, daring the team to FT him next year.  When you look at all the opt out players that were drafted in the Top 10 last year and the contract Watson got after being on the exempt list for a year, it's pretty obvious NFL GM's care very little about guys sitting out a year in regards to their value.  

Also keep in mind he can also pull an AJ Green and sit all year with a minor injury that never seems to improve.

Folks need to realize that once the deadline for reaching a long term deal has passed, Bates and his agent's priority becomes deterring the Bengals from tagging him again next year.  If he does all the right things, that only encourages them to tag him again.