It depends on the structure on Chase and Tee contracts, but very likely team gains cap space in 2025.
Looking around the league, I see MaHomes cap hit is only 28 million in 2025. He signed a huge contract a long time ago and team has yet to have his cap hit at 45 million APY. They do it through void years and bonuses paid to compensate for base salary.
Should Bengals restructure JB in 2025 or wait for future years?
It will be interesting to see the structure for Tee and Jamar. The guaranteed money is very important for cap purposed. We know Tee has 100% for years 1 and 2, question becomes if he has any guaranteed money after 2026? The lack f the guarantee also helps the team need for cash on hand for the gauranteed portion. The lower the guarantee, the less money they need in escrow for the contract.
Could any previous Bengals coach get this done under Mike Brown? The only one that I think would have had a chance was Marvin, and don't think he could have. I was not a fan of the Taylor hire, but Zac is responsible for a lot of the culture change for the Bengals. He's a player's coach, he's developed a family atmosphere, and he seems to legitimately care about the players, the fans, and the organization itself. Did he luck out with getting Burrow, Higgings, and Chase? Yes. Would those three have a super bowl if they were together on the Chiefs or Steelers? Probably. He has fostered a culture where these guys want to stay together and that says a lot. You can tell the players appreciate and respect him. They seem to go to bat for him. There is a ton that he can improve on; slow starts, position coach loyalty, the draft, to name a few. Some out of his control, I would imagine. I can only name one guy that, character wise, has blown up on him. Burton.
A lot of credit has to be given to the Brown family as well. They have allowed Zac to modernize the Bengals, to an extent, and you can see honest efforts in they way are doing things in comparison to the past.
Will it all work out? I still have my doubts as there are a ton of holes to fill. At least we have a shot now.
I’m watching Gronk and Edelman talking right now and they think this year’s FA class is very weak. Teams are overpaying for above average players is their take..
They are saying the best moves are the teams re-signing their superstars as those players are much better than what’s available in FA.
(Josh Allen, Myles Garrett, etc)
This echoes my opinion.
Locking up Chase, Tee, and Trey will be the highlight of the offseason for me other than the draft and filling out the roster.
No player in FA is better than any of these three.
It says how they were willing to throw a blank check at him in free agency until we did the "unthinkable" and tagged him:
Quote:Before free agency began, there was a lot of hype around Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins testing the market for the first time in his career and speculation about just how much money he would yield from a new team. The Patriots were at the top of the list of potential suitors since they badly needed a high caliber wide receiver and had previously inquired about trading for Higgins.
This would be their first opportunity to throw a blank check at their next franchise star, only for the Bengals to make the unthinkable move of franchise tagging Higgins for the second year in a row despite the conflict that ensued because of it last offseason.
That took him out of contention for a trade and forced the Patriots to look elsewhere for receiver help, which led to them being a frontrunner for the recently released Cooper Kupp.
However, several teams' interest in signing the former Super Bowl MVP and his alleged high asking price might turn off New England, making the latest drama involving Cincinnati and Higgins music to the Patriots' ears.
We're either going to overpay for him, which would be stupid because we need to add other pieces to this team to make us a serious contender, or we're going to lose him after this year, which would be a kick in the balls, so we need to get this done.
Quote:With limited free agent options remaining and an equal or higher price being demanded for other potential tradeable receivers, Mike Vrabel and Co. have no reason not to make the call or even make their best offer.
If the plan really is to put Drake Maye in the best position possible this season, they need to do all that they can to ensure that happens by exploring every possible avenue to acquire the kind of talent he should be surrounded by, including potentially adding Higgins to the offense.
I highly doubt this was the plan all along from the front office, but I'll give them all the credit in the world if they can pull this off. I just hope they're not too stubborn and/or make the asking price too high.
Quote:The Cincinnati Bengals, notorious for not paying players what they are worth and letting them walk in free agency, seem to be inching closer towards an extension with wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase.
NFL insider Josina Anderson is reporting Friday morning the Bengals and Chase are working out the finite details of the contract and the numbers have potentially already been agreed to.
The 25-year old stud from LSU is expected to become the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. He is expected to fetch in excess of $40 million per season.
That is unless the Bengals do something to put a fly in the ointment and put the kabash on the deal.
Never know what the Bengals are going to do until the ink is dry.
"No injury waiver in Chase's deal," Anderson posted on social media.
Once the small details are starting to be worked on it means the big issues, such as annual average value and amount of guaranteed money have already been agreed to. Chase and the Bengals be getting close to an agreement.
Anderson reports the deal will be for four years, worth an estimated $41 million per season.
I think the Denver game after Christmas was one of the best I've ever attended. It was the only game worth the price of the ticket this year. Driving home, it felt like the team re-emphasized what they were truly capable of being to the fans and everyone else watching. We saw an elite offense and a group of players with the character to fight to the bitter end. I've watched that Hard Knocks episode 2 dozen times and it never gets old. Makes me want to run through a wall every single time.
For me and likely many other fans, it re-ingnited hope for what the Burrow era can and should be. It made the disappointing season seem like a bump in the road to something that was going to be inevitably better.
What worries me now is that I think this positivity is largely gone. The reasonable expectation of urgency has been shot down. The process of maintaining and enhancing the roster has been excruciating since the beginning of August.
It doesn't feel like the people that own this team are driven to win. People talk in a derogatory way about "winning the offseason" and how it doesn't equate to success in the regular season. That shouldn't cause people to lose sight of what's happening here. This is literally the best chance this organization will ever have to win a title. They may never have a quarterback of this caliber again in our lifetimes. Maybe ever. They've already gotten him beat to shit. Now they want to drag feet and let them wither on the vine.
Two things could be happening IMO. They either no longer have the resources to compete in modern personnel aquistion or they lack the logistical ability. If it's not one of those, then they really just don't give a shit about winning. Take your pick, but what's happening here is something more than just MB being stubborn or a lack of scouts. It's a deer in the headlights failure. it's paralysis when agility is needed.
I hope I'm wrong, but I think what we are seeing is bigger than one disappointing offseason. They might have maxed out their abilities as a franchise. I have a real fear that we are seeing the beginning of the end of the Cincinnati Bengals.
The disconnect between Tobin and the FO has never been more exposed, and it's telling from the outside eye looking in.
Look no further than the scouting combine. The FO has completely cut Tobin down at the knees. The usual buttoned up and no news breaking media session was full of Tobin proclamations. He agreed with Burrow (they haven't done anything Burrow wanted). He planed to make sure we have enough to bring in outside talent. Wanted to revamp the defense. Brining in outside FA's.
This wasn't just a misstatement. It was a clear plan he had and was wiling to communicate and articulate. Tobin is wise and has been around long enough to know what to say and to expect, and yet he got it all remarkably wrong.
Insiders are talking that this is significant and if you don't remember the media session, I'd recommend listening to it again below.
People in his position do not take the public blow to their credibility lightly and Tobin can get a GM position elsewhere. This is looking like the beginning of the end for him as it's exposed he has no power after all this time.
Watch the video. You'll be amazed. Hopefully someone close to them sees this and tells them to be smarter. Its the alcohol while they're doing it that's most concerning.
