The Cincinnati Bengals are expected to reset the wide receiver market with Ja’Marr Chase this offseason. With Justin Jefferson receiving a $35 million APY deal last year, Chase is expected to earn at least $36 million. While there is plenty of time for both sides to get there, however, it also sounds like it will be a long road.
According to Dianna Russini via The Athletic, the Bengals have submitted an offer to Chase already, “the two sides remain far apart for now”. She wrote this in an article on March 1, but reiterated the same position on X yesterday.
Cincinnati recently placed the franchise tag on their other starting wide receiver, Tee Higgins. Chase expressed some evident surprise at that move by the Bengals, though it’s not clear why. Was it because the organization expressed a preference to sign Higgins to a long-term deal? Was it some kind of reaction in relation to taking care of his own business first?
There was another interesting little nugget from Russini, as well. The Bengals are on record saying they want to sign Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Trey Hendrickson to new deals. According to Russini, if they don’t manage to do all three, then Hendrickson would be the odd man out.
While that might sound logical given that they already tagged Higgins (though the article was published before the tag), teams can easily trade a tagged player. The Chiefs did that just last year with CB L’Jarius Snead. Teams can even rescind a tag, as the Panthers did with Josh Norman nearly a decade ago. Chase is obviously the Bengals’ top priority, and it’s tough to pay two wide receivers.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow came into the league with Higgins, but he has a longer history Chase. The two played together at the college level and shared a record-breaking season together. As soon as the Bengals drafted him, Chase immediately became Burrow’s go-to guy. Since then, he has developed into a premiere player, leading the NFL in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns in 2024.
One other important thing to note is that Russini doesn’t offer much clarity in her report. To say that the Bengals and Ja’Marr Chae are not close could mean a lot of different things. Are they not close on total value, or guaranteed money, or cash flow? The immediate impression some might have, for example, is that they are offering something like $25 million. Or alternatively, they might think the Bengals are offering $36 million and Chase wants $40 million.
One thing we do know is the Bengals can’t afford not to pay Ja’Marr Chase. They have chased a franchise quarterback out of town before in Carson Palmer because of their unwillingness to invest in winning. Burrow has been extremely vocal in urging the Bengals to keep their players, especially Chase. To fail to do so might irreparably damage their relationship with potentially the most important player in franchise history.
