Franchise tag opens: Bengals?

[Stewy]

(02-21-2023, 01:17 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: This team currently doesn't have a starting safety from last year on the team. 

They can more than afford to franchise Bates this year. Pair him with Dax for a year. 

One of the key reason Bates didn't sit out last year because he was a 2nd round pick and essentially had never been paid any big money as he was on his first contract.

LeVeon Bell's situation was unique in that he had already played on the TAG and banked millions, just like Bates did this year.  Thus, I find it very VERY likely that Bates will sit out a 2nd tag, since he just got paid enough to safely sit out, assuming he banked the pay instead of squandering it.

I fully expect that Bates will NOT play on a 2nd tag.