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

[*ochocincos*]

(05-19-2022, 10:45 AM)XenoMorph Wrote: plus until he signs the Deal hes not offically under contract and not subjected to fines (at least to my understanding hes as much a bengal right now as you or me)

I thought that was the case too.
The fines are only if you sign but still don't show up.

I know that if a player signs a franchise tag, teams have until July 15 deadline to sign the player to a long-term extension.
However, I'm not sure what the deadline is for Bates to sign the tag before he would become a FA.

If for some reason Bates doesn't play with the Bengals this year, the Bengals should repurpose (some of) that cap toward other upgrades on the team.

I'd 100% look to add at least one versatile veteran to the OL for depth. Just someone $4 mill or less.
Bengals can (and should) do this without needing Bates' tag $$, but they'd definitely have more room with the extra $12.9 mill to work with.