Bengals extend Chase (4 yrs $161mill) AND Higgins (4 yrs $115mill)

[HappyDays]

1 hour ago, YoloinOhio said:

They will need to draft and pray at several positions where they need immediate starters who are difference makers. They didn’t improve at all this offseason yet. The hope is Al golden improves the defense but that will be tough without talent and depending on rookies. Otherwise, it’s the same team as last year and they can pin their hopes on a wild card bc they are clearly having to chase a much better Baltimore. 

 

Did any serious contender meaningfully improve this offseason? The Bills didn't - we spent the offseason re-signing our own and signing decent but unspectacular free agents, and still have a couple positions with glaring holes on the roster. Teams like the Pats and Panthers went on a spending spree because they could. The contenders are all going to have to "draft and pray" because that's the part of their window that they're in. Legitimately good to great starters at premium positions aren't making it to free agency.

 

Like what was Cincy supposed to use Higgins' money on? Should they have given Dan Moore $21M AAV? Milton Williams $26M AAV? It's a fair point that they have serious concerns across their roster, but that doesn't mean they should start spending bad money just to say they tried to improve weak positions. Their only mistake in this saga is that they waited too long and cost themselves a few extra million a season.

[mikemac2001]

23 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

who were the best guys they lost after the SB year?

Their entire secondary changed the next year and then DJ reader left the following.

 

There were a-lot Of parts on that defense that left other than Trey. 

 

[Buffalo Ballin]

Good luck with that.

 

For receivers? I don't care who they are. That's QB/RB/Great defensive players type money. I just don't know anymore. Having an often injured Burrow will make this a huge fail.

 

This type of money should have been used to strengthen their O-line to protect Burrow and defense to stop the opposition.

Edited 6 hours ago by Buffalo Ballin

[YoloinOhio]

1 hour ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

Burrow is a mirage of his surroundings IMO. That's not to say he doesn't have skills. He does. But he's greatly propped up by the WRs around him and the fact the defense is so bad they are in almost constant come back mode and have to pass 40+ times a game. 

 

Even Jake Browning looked really good throwing to Chase and Higgins 2 seasons ago. I see people putting him top 3. I don't see him even in the top 5 QBs. 

Burrow is a good to great qb on a bad team with a bad owner and HC. He can take them to the SB again, I think he’s good enough. I think he’s a Brady type mentally and physically. The issue is they do not know how to build the team that is needed to win a SB. When will they do that. In his lifetime? I have no issue with the GM paying the WRs they drafted and developed and who burrow wants to stay. I do have an issue that they are bumbling around in the front office waiting so long and costing so much extra money in the process they are hamstrung on signing quality starters at other positions let alone quality depth needed to get through a season, win a division, etc. Trying to act like this was the “Eagles model” bc they also have two highly paid WR. The eagles way is also an elite OL, Defense, all world RB and dual threat QB. None of which is in place there. Godspeed. 

Edited 6 hours ago by YoloinOhio

[CincyBillsFan]

2 hours ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

Burrow is a mirage of his surroundings IMO. That's not to say he doesn't have skills. He does. But he's greatly propped up by the WRs around him and the fact the defense is so bad they are in almost constant come back mode and have to pass 40+ times a game. 

 

Even Jake Browning looked really good throwing to Chase and Higgins 2 seasons ago. I see people putting him top 3. I don't see him even in the top 5 QBs. 

That's a fair point and also Burrow and the O were often going against late game prevent defenses.  That will do more then anything to prop up your stats.  Just look at Mahomes stats in the SB against the Eagles up to the point where the birds led 34 - 0 then look at his stats the rest of the game against a prevent/back-up D. 

 

 

[Billl]

52 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

Burrow is a good to great qb on a bad team with a bad owner and HC. He can take them to the SB again, I think he’s good enough. I think he’s a Brady type mentally and physically. The issue is they do not know how to build the team that is needed to win a SB. When will they do that. In his lifetime? I have no issue with the GM paying the WRs they drafted and developed and who burrow wants to stay. I do have an issue that they are bumbling around in the front office waiting so long and costing so much extra money in the process they are hamstrung on signing quality starters at other positions let alone quality depth needed to get through a season, win a division, etc. Trying to act like this was the “Eagles model” bc they also have two highly paid WR. The eagles way is also an elite OL, Defense, all world RB and dual threat QB. None of which is in place there. Godspeed. 

They led in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl with the same core of players and have played the Chiefs tougher in the postseason than any other team.  The options are to play to their existing, massive strengths and try to hit on some draft picks around them or tear things down around Burrow and try to completely reinvent the roster.  No serious franchise would go with the latter.

 

Three years ago, the Chiefs traded Tyreek because he wanted $30 million AAV.   Today, that contract sounds like a massive bargain.  The same will be true for Chase and Higgins.  The Bengals’ issues have been 100% caused by poor drafting the last few seasons.  No amount of middle class free agent signings will change that.

[YoloinOhio]

4 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

Did any serious contender meaningfully improve this offseason? The Bills didn't - we spent the offseason re-signing our own and signing decent but unspectacular free agents, and still have a couple positions with glaring holes on the roster. Teams like the Pats and Panthers went on a spending spree because they could. The contenders are all going to have to "draft and pray" because that's the part of their window that they're in. Legitimately good to great starters at premium positions aren't making it to free agency.

 

Like what was Cincy supposed to use Higgins' money on? Should they have given Dan Moore $21M AAV? Milton Williams $26M AAV? It's a fair point that they have serious concerns across their roster, but that doesn't mean they should start spending bad money just to say they tried to improve weak positions. Their only mistake in this saga is that they waited too long and cost themselves a few extra million a season.

They weren’t a serious contender, they needed to improve. They aren’t in the same category, sadly, as those with well rounded rosters. Now dependent on rookies. Again I agree they should have paid their WR (but should have been sooner, they are stupid).

Edited 2 hours ago by YoloinOhio

[SoTier]

4 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

Did any serious contender meaningfully improve this offseason? The Bills didn't - we spent the offseason re-signing our own and signing decent but unspectacular free agents, and still have a couple positions with glaring holes on the roster. Teams like the Pats and Panthers went on a spending spree because they could. The contenders are all going to have to "draft and pray" because that's the part of their window that they're in. Legitimately good to great starters at premium positions aren't making it to free agency.

 

Like what was Cincy supposed to use Higgins' money on? Should they have given Dan Moore $21M AAV? Milton Williams $26M AAV? It's a fair point that they have serious concerns across their roster, but that doesn't mean they should start spending bad money just to say they tried to improve weak positions. Their only mistake in this saga is that they waited too long and cost themselves a few extra million a season.

 

Are the Bengals "serious contenders"?   I don't think they are at this time.  The Bengals are a marginal playoff team at best.  That they failed to make the playoffs in 2023 is blamed on Burrow being injured, but they were only 5-5 in the 10 games when Burrow played and 4-3 without him.  They failed again to make the playoffs, again going 9-8, in 2024 because their defense couldn't stop anybody.   

 

Your argument that the Bengals shouldn't "waste" money on modest FAs doesn't make sense.  They don't have a few holes that can be stop-gap filled with modest FA signings like the Bills or Ravens or Rams.  They have lots of holes on both sides of the ball.  Hendrickson led the NFL in sacks, but the Bengals' defense still sucked.  They have serious need of better defensive backfield personnel, so even some of the modest DBs available in FA would be upgrades.   Burrow was sacked 48 times in 2024, but they re-signed Cody Ford (yes, the same Cody Ford the Bills drafted in Round 2 in 2019 and wasn't good enough to even be a Bills backup).  In contrast, Josh Allen was sacked 14 times, Lamar Jackson was sacked 23 times, and Matthew Stafford 28 times in 2024.

 

How is a team supposed to improve its record if its roster is filled with poor players -- and it doesn't go after some modest FAs who are better than the guys currently on their roster?

 

Edited 2 hours ago by SoTier