Joe Burrow has been urging the Cincinnati Bengals to retain Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Trey Hendrickson for months. He even recently stated in an interview that he’d be willing to restructure his contract to make it happen. However, the team’s hesitations became evident when reports surfaced about their plan to franchise-tag Higgins. All signs point to the possibility of losing one or more of those players, which one ESPN analyst now sees as a certainty.
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Kevin Clark is a hard-working journalist who worked for The Ringer for eight years before signing on with ESPN. He recently joined the Get Up crew as a fill-in, discussing if the Bengals should retain all three players.
Everyone in the panel unhesitatingly agreed that they should try to retain them — they just don’t know if they will. Clark especially voiced his lack of confidence in a Bengals front office that has never shown a willingness to overspend.
“I’m looking at this Bengals team and I’m seeing decades of spending, and the way that they operate that shows me they aren’t going to keep these three guys,” Clark stated. “They just don’t spend in a way that, frankly, is befitting of a contender… You can’t waste Joe Burrow’s window.”
It’s a take that not many Bengals fans want to hear, but they probably know it’s true. Clark referenced Jessie Bates III signing a four-year $64 million deal with the Falcons when Cincinnati had the opportunity to offer him a similar deal. And of course, we can’t forget about Joe Mixon.
The Bengals traded him away to the Texans for a seventh-round draft pick to save $6 million in cap last year. Mixon ended the season with over 1,000 yards rushing and 11 TDs scored after agreeing to a three-year $27 million deal with his new team.
Contract Situation for the Trio
The latest update we have on the trio’s contract situation is that the Bengals are expected to franchise-tag Higgins. It’s the first domino of many to fall, and one that could have dire consequences. Higgins played last season on the franchise tag as well and expressed his disgruntlement over not having a long-term deal. Now, the team appears to be going down the same path again.
However, nothing has been official yet. A franchise tag would escalate to a one-year, $26.2 million deal for Higgins if he agrees, which is actually more than his current market value of $25.4 million. But it’s the years he’s concerned over, not the M’s. Higgins is looking for a long-term deal that will set him up.
Yet, the Bengals brass has come out and said that they are prioritizing extending Chase before Higgins. This may upset Higgins, but this is the right thing to do. Chase is a generational talent who the team cannot lose. Higgins is a great player, but he’s not a top-10 receiver in the game. Chase may be the best receiver in the NFL.
The sacks leader, Hendrickson, came out and said he wanted to stay in Cincinnati. He made it clear that he and his wife have settled down and found a nice life out there. However, he also said that if the team doesn’t want to sign him, then they should trade him for young players and future picks. He’s so loyal to the team that he wants his trade to bring back the players that will eventually win the franchise a title.
“If it’s something that helps the Bengals win a Super Bowl by getting picks or anything like that. I want to help Cincinnati win a Super Bowl,” Hendrickson told Sports Illustrated. “Whether I’m there or not.”
It’s a wild situation that the Bengals find themselves in. They need to restructure and retain several key players. Burrow seems destined to win a Super Bowl one day, but his team continually lacks the financial support. Yet, he made it work in 2021, taking the team to the big game. Let’s see what he and the Bengals can cook up in 2025.
