Bates - No Intentions Reporting to Camp or Play on Tag

[WeezyBengal]

What are everyone's thoughts on this:

For me, the main hang up with paying Bates is his inconsistency in performance over the past couple seasons. He was great in 2020 and average/below average in 2021 and then great in the playoffs.

If it were me, I would let him play out the year on the tag. If you like what you see and you're confident in his abilities, then you tag him again and then you negotiate again and give him the deal that he wants.

Basically a "prove it year" for Bates, but by tagging him again you make sure he doesn't hit free agency so you can negotiate a deal and he doesn't jump ship.