Cincinnati Bengals News & Rumors

After Jessie Bates expressed hope he would land a Bengals extension before the season, a report surfaced indicating the contract-year safety might have to play out his rookie deal.

Nearly a month away from Cincinnati’s season opener, Bates is set to earn $2.4MM in base salary. The talented safety’s comments on this situation may or may not indicate a certain level of annoyance, but time does remain for the sides to regroup and hammer out an agreement.

“I think as far as my contract goes, I guess I haven’t done enough yet to be considered one of the top safeties in this league, which is fine,” Bates said during an interview with the Bengals radio announcers Dan Hoard and Dave Lapham (via WKRC). “That’s fine with me. I’m going to go to work just like any other day, my first three years being here.

“Just being able to have that open conversation with my agent has been great in regards to just having the conversation, very open. I think this will probably be the last time that I speak on the contract just because I think it can get a little messy as far as thinking about it too much.”

No Pro Bowl invites have come Bates’ way yet, but the 2018 second-round pick is coming off a season in which Pro Football Focus graded him as the league’s top safety. The Wake Forest product is 3-for-3 in 100-plus-tackle seasons and has intercepted three passes in each of his three pro years. This has not resulted in Bengals defensive success, with the team ranking near the bottom throughout Bates’ tenure, but the 24-year-old defender has largely done his part. He has started all 48 of the Bengals’ games over the past three seasons.

Bates would be a surefire franchise tag candidate, should the Bengals let this play out to that point. They did so with Carl Lawson and William Jackson, letting the defenders finish their rookie deals and leave in free agency. Cincinnati’s current defense features a number of free agency additions; Bates represents a homegrown talent who is poised to land a top-market contract. It will be interesting to see how the team proceeds here.

One of the NFL’s best young safeties, Jessie Bates is going into a contract year. The former second-round pick expressed interest in signing a Bengals extension earlier this summer, but the sides are not currently on track to hammer one out.

Bates and the Bengals are not progressing on a deal, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (on Twitter), who adds the sides are not expected to reach an agreement at this time. While four weeks remain until the regular season begins, this situation has become one to monitor.

The Bengals have used their training camp and preseason stretches to reach extension agreements with core players in recent years — from A.J. Green to Carlos Dunlap to Geno Atkins to Joe Mixon. The team just extended defensive end Sam Hubbard, who joined Bates as a 2018 draftee. Bates certainly profiles as a fellow extension candidate and can aim for a deal north of $14MM annually. Jamal Adams is poised to reset the safety market; others at the position will be observing what his Seahawks talks produce.

The 24-year-old defender changed agents in 2020, preparing for negotiations once he became eligible for a new deal after his third season. Bates is coming off a strong third season, one that put him on the radar for a possible top-market safety pact. Pro Football Focus rated the Wake Forest product No. 1 overall at the safety position in 2020, when Bates intercepted three passes and eclipsed the 100-tackle barrier for the third straight season.

Cincinnati would have the franchise tag to place on Bates in 2022, should these talks fail to produce a deal. The Jets and Saints took this route with safeties Marcus Maye and Marcus Williams, respectively, this year. The Bengals balked at tagging defenders William Jackson or Carl Lawson this year, moving instead to let them walk and replace them in free agency. It would surprise if the team allowed Bates to test the market next year, but he remains attached to his rookie contract without much momentum to change that arrangement at this point.