Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins had great 2024 campaigns and are seeking long-term deals with the Bengals this offseason. A number of factors play into their corner to get the deals they’re seeking.
Last spring and summer, much of the talk about the Cincinnati Bengals centered around extensions to star players.
Unfortunately, the attention was largely negative, as Trey Hendrickson, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins all had their contractual frustrations failed to be met by the team.
As most know by now, Higgins admirably played on the franchise tag, Chase had one of the best seasons ever by an NFL wide receiver, garnering a First-Team All-Pro nomination, despite a “Hold-in” this summer. Hendrickson joined him in that achievement this year, thanks to a 17.5-sack season. All three are hoping that they grabbed the attention of the Bengals’ front office this time around in terms of their talent and organizational value.
We talked about this, particularly the scenario with Higgins, on a recent episode of The Orange and Black Insider. He is seemingly doing what he can to make things easier on the Browns/Blackburns, as he recently made an agent change from the aggressive David Mulugheta of Athletes First, opting for Chase’s agency. Connecting the dots and taking Joe Burrow’s late-season comments about Higgins makes one think there will be a grander push to keep Higgins on the Bengals.
Chase and Hendrickson as top priorities
Chase is tops on the Bengals’ priority list, and, to be fair to the Bengals, the star wide receiver and the team were reportedly close to a deal as the late summer came and went, per his own words. But, the team was heavily scrutinized (probably pretty fairly) for not getting any extensions done with their three stars.
In reality, Chase, Hendrickson, Burrow, and Higgins largely carried the team to their near-playoff push. Sure, Chase Brown and others contributed to other high degrees, but most agree that the 2024 Bengals were a top-heavy team, and their stars carried them down the stretch.
Cincinnati has traditionally paid their star skill position players well. They highly value star quarterbacks, wide receivers, and offensive tackles above most other positions, and despite preconceived notions, they’ve often paid these positions at high levels.
Sure, late-career balking by the club to Andrew Whitworth and a fourth contract to TJ Houshmandzadeh notwithstanding, but this was especially evident in the early Marvin Lewis/Carson Palmer years, where many star players were paid well.
So, given the negotiations last year, Chase’s ridiculous 2024 campaign, and their history of traditionally paying at least their No. 1 wide receiver, it would seem that this is the next big financial domino to fall.
Hendrickson is a bit different because of his age, but the fact that he has 57 sacks in four seasons with the Bengals (14.25 per year, on average) makes him invaluable. Oddly enough, as a 29 and 30-year-old, Hendrickson has put up 35 sacks these past two seasons combined, with zero signs of slowing down.
When he hit a bit of a production dip in 2022 (eight sacks after garnering 14 in 2021), one prevailing opinion was that he was taking too many snaps. A lack of rotational pass-rush help was a supposed issue, but he pushed through that same problem the past two years to cement himself as a top-three edge player in the NFL.
We mentioned Whitworth’s departure earlier, and the Bengals would be wise to take the lessons learned from that mistake and apply it here. Hendrickson is one of those rare “fine wine” players, and while he’s under contract through this season, extending him to a short-term extension would go a long way to fortify the roster, appease a Defensive Player of the Year candidate and send a message to the locker room.
“You can only pay so many guys”
After Burrow signed his mega-extension in the summer of 2023, this was the talking point. “How are the Bengals going to keep Chase, Higgins, and others?” chimed the masses. In fairness, there was validity to that chorus, as evidenced by the 0-for-3 extensions to stars this offseason.
Last year, the Bengals forced Higgins into a one-year rental deal known as the Franchise Tag, and he quietly obliged without a holdout. Familiar injury frustrations occurred, as Higgins missed five games this year. Yet, despite the missed games, Higgins had a, well, very Tee Higgins-esque season with which we’ve become familiar.
The fifth-year wide receiver put up 73 catches (one short of tying his career-best), 911 yards (third-highest in his career), and 10 touchdowns (most in his career). In short, you take the injury frustrations for the mismatch nightmares he causes, as well as his ability to make this offense truly multidimensional.
Aside from the largely consistent production over the course of a half-decade, Higgins’ seemingly goodwill gesture to the Bengals with an agent change in an effort to get a deal done.
We’ll see if that comes to fruition, but the feeling is that Burrow will be pushing for both receivers to be in Cincinnati long-term to avoid a possible Palmer situation all over again.
A lack of an Heir Apparent for Higgins
Production aside, this may be truly where the Bengals have pinned themselves into a corner. Chase and Higgins stepped up statistically in 2024, but it’s in the guys behind them on the depth chart that has upped the importance of keeping both “Uno” and “Cinco” in Cincinnati in the years ahead.
In 2023, the Bengals drafted two receivers with differing skill sets to both round out the position group for the short-term but also to see if they could find a more affordable long-term replacement for Higgins. Charlie Jones has had injuries and has been largely relegated to return duties, while Andrei Iosivas has had nice moments but also some dry spells.
Much like the “Chris Evans Effect,” Iosivas has an incredible touch-to-touchdown ratio. He’s averaging a touchdown at nearly 20% of each reception (10 touchdowns on 51 catches) in his two-year career. He did make a nice leap in 2024, garnering 21 more receptions, 363 more yards, and two more touchdowns from his rookie season, and while his career seems secure, “Yoshi” appears to be a valuable WR3 or WR4 for the foreseeable future. His replacing Higgins (even though they do different things and move around) as the second wide receiver would require another big leap from him in year three.
So, that leaves us to look at 2024 third-round pick Jermaine Burton. The first-round talent has continued to lean into the character red flags that caused him to fall to night two last spring. He had just four receptions as a rookie and was benched by the coaches in two games.
The last benching came in the do-or-die game in Pittsburgh in the final week of the season, as reports of eviction, assault, and other allegations have emerged. The fact is that the Bengals simply can’t count on him for any kind of big role in 2025, given what has transpired over the past few months.
Former Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh told us back in early November that he keeps trying to get to his protégé with intense talks, but who knows when things will click?
And, this is why the Bengals’ front office can ill-afford to play games with their star receivers going forward. Who Dey Nation is not only one of the most passionate and loyal fan bases, but they are also pretty well-educated when it comes to the happenings of their beloved team.
What was a year that began with frustration with Higgins because of the injuries ended in the masses clamoring for his re-signing with the club, given his six touchdown receptions, 422 yards, and 35 receptions in the final six games of the season. He’s the perfect complement to Chase and one must remember that Higgins and Burrow have built a rapport since they were even drafted on the same team together, thanks to the spring workouts spearheaded by Jordan Palmer.
The pressure, be it from Bengals fans, the team’s star players, and/or their agents, is squarely on the Bengals this offseason. How serious are they about winning? How far are they willing to go to maximize their generational talent at quarterback, wide receiver, and edge defender? Will they go beyond their comfort zone to retain stars and push for a Lombardi Trophy?
It’s going to be an interesting spring and summer, for sure.
