It’s beating a dead horse at this point but yes, this is a crucial offseason for the Cincinnati Bengals. The organization, coaches, players, and fans know that there is some top-end talent in the locker room. Cincinnati had its best two-year stretch in franchise history in 2021 and 2022 that resulted in five playoff wins, two AFC Championship Game appearances, and one Super Bowl appearance. In those offseasons, the team was proactive in securing free agents who contributed in big ways and drafted a few contributors.<\/p>\n
Now, the bill has come due. Joe Burrow<\/a> was extended, as he should have been. Tee Higgins<\/a> has been tagged a second time<\/a>. Ja’Marr Chase<\/a> is about to play on his fifth-year option. Trey Hendrickson<\/a> has given the team an ultimatum<\/a>. Despite having plenty of cap space – yes, the Bengals have the cap space to get all three deals taken care of<\/a> – nothing has gotten done.<\/p>\n Defacto General Manager Duke Tobin has made his views clear about his superstars. And yet, here we are.<\/p>\n Everyone loves to think about what the Bengals can and will do. Most tend to side with the idea that the Bengals are just too cheap and they won’t get anything done. NFL executives evidently believe the Bengals should have “just let Tee walk<\/a>” instead of placing a second Franchise Tag on his. Yes, other NFL teams would rather see the Bengals move on from their star receiver so they could have the chance to sign the top free agent on the market. Groundbreaking stuff.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, while on the “Drop the Mic” podcast, NFL Insider from The33rdTeam, Ari Meirov, spoke on the team’s negotiations with Chase, Higgins, and Hendrickson:<\/p>\n “If they want to keep all three players, they gotta get to $40 million per year for Ja’Marr, $30 million per year for Tee and about $32-33 million for Trey. They’re nowhere close on all three right now.”<\/em><\/p>\n Considering the Bengals tend to keep these things close to the vest, if Meirov’s information is good, it would imply the players and their agents are leaking information. As for Hendrickson, who told the team to extend him or trade him, Meirov alleged that the two sides are not close in negotiations.<\/p>\n “A\u00a0couple of\u00a0weeks ago, I would have said\u00a0there’s\u00a0no chance he gets traded.\u00a0I think the possibility is out there,\u00a0like\u00a0if\u00a0they’re\u00a0able to\u00a0get a crazy, crazy offer for him, I think\u00a0they’d\u00a0be willing to listen.\u00a0They\u00a0don’t\u00a0want to trade him. They want to keep him, but now their ears are a little bit open\u00a0when it comes to\u00a0that situation.<\/em><\/p>\n “The number has to be $32-33 million per year in order to make it happen. He has one year and $16 million left. He knows his value. He knows that Myles Garrett<\/a>, T.J. Watt<\/a>, Maxx Crosby<\/a>, and those type of players are all going to get paid this offseason as well. Those guys are also on third contracts. So he knows where the market is going and he wants to be paid accordingly, and to this point, they’ve been very far apart like they’ve been with the other two guys as well.”<\/em><\/p>\n The problem with this entire saga is that, at least in terms of his public-facing comments, defacto GM Tobin has had the same opinion as fans. He evidently wants to get the deals done. He’s wanted to get the deals done for a while now.<\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t heard anything he\u2019s said that I\u2019m not in complete alignment on,\u201d Tobin said. \u201cI want the good players, too. And I think they ought to be paid to their ability level, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re gonna do.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI think you guys all know what I feel about Tee Higgins,\u201d Tobin said. \u201cI think Tee Higgins is a fantastic football player and I want him on my football team. Whenever I\u2019m in charge of a football team, I want Tee Higgins. So I\u2019m going to do what I can to get Tee Higgins. Our preference with Tee Higgins is to do a long-term agreement. Always has been. It continues to be.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Regarding Hendrickson,<\/p>\n “Our preference with Trey is to have him on our football team,” Tobin said last week. “I never really talked about open preferences for trading guys, because all that does is take on a life of its own. And that’s not something I want to do, because I want Trey on our football team. He’s under contract. We’re looking to we’re looking to pay him for what we believe will be really good future years and we see him as not falling off in his career.”<\/em><\/p>\n A lot of frustration within the fanbase is often directed toward Tobin. Just like with the Cincinnati Reds and Nick Krall, there’s a very real possibility that the GMs are not to blame and that they are trying to fight with one hand tied behind their backs.<\/p>\n Tobin doesn’t set the payroll (and neither does Krall, despite his quip of “aligning payroll to resources”). It seems – and this could just be giving him too much credit – Tobin would do whatever he could to keep his stars. But how much negotiating power does he have if his boss(es) say that he needs to try and pay a $30 million per year player with, say, $22 million? While those numbers are made-up and we are not claiming insider knowledge, it does make sense.<\/p>\nIs There a Disconnect Between the Bengals GM and Ownership?<\/h2>\n
Insider Doubts<\/h3>\n
Tobin’s Statements<\/h3>\n
Now What?<\/h3>\n