The big three will remain in Cincinnati for the foreseeable future.
The Cincinnati Bengals are finalizing contract extensions for both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, according to James Rapien of Bengals Talk and Locked On Bengals. Rapien adds that a league source says both extensions are “done.”
This comes after NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Bengals had made enough progress on extensions for both wide receivers that their deals could happen in the coming days, so it appears that’s playing out, making Joe Burrow one happy camper.
This is a tremendous development for the Bengals, who’ve had a tough start to the offseason after opting to pass on being aggressive in the opening waves of NFL free agency. Now that they’re seemingly getting these deals finalized, the Bengals can now focus on upgrading the guard position and just about any part of the defense.
An added bonus is these deals could significantly lower the cap hits for both players in 2025, depending on how their contract bonuses are spread out in the coming years. Higgins was set to play under the franchise tag, which would have cost the Bengals $26.1 million since it’s the second time he’s been tagged.
Chase, meanwhile, was set to play under the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, which carried a cap hit of $21.8 million. So that’s nearly $48 million in cap hits that will likely get trimmed by quite a bit, freeing up money to upgrade the rest of the roster.
Most importantly, it means the big three of Chase/Higgins/Burrow will remain in the Queen City for the foreseeable future.
That deserves a major Who DEY!!