The Cincinnati Bengals are headed into a massive offseason. After Joe Burrow had an MVP-like season under center, the Bengals have some pressure to put together a complete offseason.
Heading into free agency, the club has two key players to retain -- that being wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson.
Now, the negotiation of those two contracts will determine how much salary cap space Cincinnati will be playing with to build the rest of the roster.
However, the contract extensions come first. Burrow threw for 4,918 yards and 43 touchdowns with just nine interceptions. En route to the remarkable season for Burrow, the Bengals had the NFL's leading wide receiver. Chase will now command the biggest non-quarterback contract in the league.
What is Chase expecting in a contract? One has to assume it's coming, and the Bengals have been pressured by Burrow to secure the top receiver in the league for him to throw to.
While at the Pro Bowl games, ESPN's Lauren Rutledge asked Chase what he will be looking for in a contract extension this offseason.
"At the end of the day, I just hope I get what's fair," Chase told Rutledge. "...Hopefully I don't put too much pressure on anybody, but I just want it to be fair, that's all."
Quite vague, right? Rutledge followed up again. What's fair for Chase?
"Fair is what I deserve," Chase answered. "I can't really say everything I want to say. It's what I deserve, it's what I've worked for, how hard I worked for. It's a written story already. It should be fair change."
While Chase won't go into details on what that number is in terms of what he's expecting financially.
For the Bengals, the message is clear. Extend Chase and give him what he needs. The superstar is clear about it. Burrow has been clear about it. Cincinnati is going to have to open its checkbook.
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