The Bengals didn’t sign Jessie Bates prior to the extension deadline, and despite having little leverage to avoid playing on the franchise tag in 2022, the safety is still away from the team as training camp starts. Speaking to reporters, Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin acknowledged that the two sides “just didn’t come together” on a new deal and there are “no hard feelings” (via ESPN’s Ben Baby on Twitter).
[RELATED: Jessie Bates Absent From Training Camps]
Predictably, Tobin revealed that the front office would be willing to resume negotiations with Bates following the upcoming season. Bates has not yet signed his tender — which means that he cannot be fined for skipping training camp — but he will either need to sign it at some point or sit out the entire 2022 campaign, which seems highly unlikely. The most likely route sees Bates return to the field for the 2022 season and then hit unrestricted free agent next offseason. For what it’s worth, a trade isn’t expected.
Meanwhile, the Bengals front office will soon have to shift focus to extending their franchise quarterback. Speaking to reporters, team president Mike Brown made it clear that the Bengals want to keep Joe Burrow long-term.
“I can tell you that we couldn’t be happier with Joe Burrow,” Brown said (via Baby). “He’s everything you would wish for, especially for a quarterback in Cincinnati. Our whole focus is going to be on keeping him here.”
Burrow is entering the third year of his rookie contract, meaning there’s still plenty of time to negotiate a new pact. As Baby notes, the Bengals will also have to figure out how to proceed with an extension for wide receiver Tee Higgins, although Brown was clear that QB is the team’s priority.
“Right now, our obvious, most important issue will be with our quarterback,” Brown said. “It’s not quite ready or ripe yet, but it’s right down the track. We see the train coming.”
Bates is clearly not a bright guy. He had an extremely mediocre 17 game season last year. His only chance at getting paid is to have a dominant 2022. Skipping camp won’t get him there. Especially since the Bengals drafted his replacement. I see Bates showing up for the first game and splitting snaps all season Bcs of it. Going to be funny to watch him not get paid next off-season. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
He’s not going to split snaps just because he missed some preseason. It’s not like it’s a new system, and Hill can play just about anything in the secondary. If the Bengals don’t want to pay him because of priorities coming down the pipeline, I get it, but he’s also generally been very good over the last four years while playing a ton of snaps. He’s worthy of a long-term deal, even if he’s not going to get it there, and I get both the frustration and not wanting to risk injury before he gets his first multi-year deal. I doubt they’re going to bench him for a worse player to punish him or because he loses so much ground in preseason.
Im with oof. He’s not missing anything by sitting out camp.
The main issue here is an impasse for both sides: bates wants what’s due to him after being a solid veteran piece. But the issue with the NFL is that every year the team could draft someone younger who can replace you immediately with significantly less cost. Its too easy to plug in a replacement. I would never sign a veteran unless he’s Joe Burrow/MaHolmes etc. Play out your rookie deal and walk while I sign the next kid
Hill is a potential replacement for Bates yes. Cinci saw the potential of this situation unfolding and covered their behinds by drafting Hill. But Bates is a productive veteran starter and the Bengals are trying to win now. They can’t afford to play games with Bates and punish him for looking after his own interests by limiting his playing time. He’ll be playing lots and playing well and if Hill has to step into Bates spot next year, we’ll that’s just how the old pigskin bounces.