Can The Bengals Keep This Team Together?

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(12-02-2022, 12:20 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: He isn't going to take the Mahomes deal. That deal will be 3 years old next offseason and he has already slipped to the 5th highest paid QB. If you know that the cap is going to rise a ton over the next few years, be sure that the players and agents know that too.

Not to mention that would mean Burrow taking less per year than Watson in his own division, as well as less than Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson. (And Herbert when he gets paid next off-season too.)

Nobody is taking a 10 year deal right now because they want to be able to renegotiate an extension in a few years when there is more cap space pumping up contract numbers further. A lot of 4-5 year deals for highly paid QBs.

You ninja'd but it might be true that the Browns/Blackburns could have trouble throwing all the guaranteed money from a Burrow, Higgins, AND Chase deal into escrow. That has to be actual cash, not just worth-backed.

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There isn't really any savings from Bates walking. That money is already gone. Guys already under contract are getting larger cap hits. Hendrickson next year is $2m more, BJ Hill is $2.5m more, Hubbard is $3m more, Chase is $1.5m more, Cappa is $2m more, Jonah is $7m more, Collins is $3m more. Plus you need to re-sign Bell (he will likely be more expensive) and find a TE. Plus other guys with smaller increases in cap hits.

I wouldn't be so certain about the "less than Watson per year" as a hangup.  It will be all about the guarantee, something the Bengals USUALLY avoid.  However, I could see about $300 million of Burrow's contract being guaranteed.  And that is worth a lot to a player compared to the ego of saying it is more per year than someone else.  Watson's deal was so incredibly stupid that I can't see it factoring in.  Browns were desperate and have probably screwed their franchise for at least 5 years.  I think Watson will suck ass when he returns.  

Also, the Bates money does matter because they will not be paying $13 million next year to a guy that they did this year.  Sure, it will be eaten up by other contracts, but letting Bates walk and replacing him with a late first round rookie is a huge savings.