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

[DrDawkinstein]

3 minutes ago, SoTier said:

 

IMO, these contracts were done to pacify the fan base.   They'll be excited by the long passes that will make the Bengals look like a playoff contender even if their record is only around .500.   It's the quintessential formula for "putting butts in the seats" by keeping/bringing in big names even if those aren't big name players aren't what the team needs.

 

If Mike Brown was serious about building another Super Bowl contending team, he would have extended Chase last year or right after the season rather than waiting around until the market went north of $40 million.  He would have paid Hendrickson early and let Higgins walk.  Then he would have had the money to upgrade the OL and the defense.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AKA the Jerry Jones method

[FireChans]

2 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

AKA the Jerry Jones method

They are pacifying their QB.

 

They don’t want another Carson Palmer.

 

I wouldn’t have paid both but I get why they did. Keeping Burrow happy is franchise goal #1

 

Its the same reason the Bills take WR’s Josh likes or hire coaches he likes or pays players he likes 

[Mr. WEO]

2 hours ago, TBBills Fan said:

Not really, both were on rookie deals and burrow wasn't paid yet. 

they drafted them and now are paying them

[Mr. WEO]

2 hours ago, Process said:

Lol the team that went to the Superbowl was the exact opposite of the current team. QB and WRs on rookie deals and a very good defense. 

 

It wasn't in their SB season.

2 hours ago, Rigotz said:

 

A couple years ago they didn't have to pay those players... what??

 

Also, where did it get them last year?

 

So they should let Chase or Higgins play elsewhere so they can pick up...who?  Bosa?  Miller? Jordan Philips? A PED guy? 

[SoTier]

8 minutes ago, FireChans said:

They are pacifying their QB.

 

They don’t want another Carson Palmer.

 

I wouldn’t have paid both but I get why they did. Keeping Burrow happy is franchise goal #1

 

Its the same reason the Bills take WR’s Josh likes or hire coaches he likes or pays players he likes 

 

It's still all PR.  They really didn't want to pay either of them.  If they had extended Higgins in 2023 and Chase in 2024, they may very well have had both for around $50 million, but they stalled until Burrow said he really wanted them.  I really don't think that Burrow would complain if they let one go and added better OLers.  Now, Brown can put the blame for a poor OL, a poor running game, and bad defense on Burrow, especially if they trade Hendrickson.

[TBBills Fan]

29 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

they drafted them and now are paying them

I understand that. 

 

But the team that went to the Superbowl was not with just them...saying they made it a few years ago doesn't have any bearing on if they will be able to make it back

 

The caps hits were different, they had money for other players and had a much different defense because of it.  

 

We will see if paying these big contracts to 2 WRs and the QB will lead them back, but it is certainly not a guarantee.  It takes more than 3 guys to make the big dance. 

[FireChans]

19 minutes ago, SoTier said:

 

It's still all PR.  They really didn't want to pay either of them.  If they had extended Higgins in 2023 and Chase in 2024, they may very well have had both for around $50 million, but they stalled until Burrow said he really wanted them.  I really don't think that Burrow would complain if they let one go and added better OLers.  Now, Brown can put the blame for a poor OL, a poor running game, and bad defense on Burrow, especially if they trade Hendrickson.

I honestly have no idea. I cannot even put myself in Mike Brown’s shoes but I do know he’s notoriously cash poor.

 

Maybe he couldn’t afford it 2 years ago? Especially after paying Burrow. It wouldn’t shock me.

 

I do think Burrow put the screws to them this offseason to retain Higgins in particular. We can say “they could have used that money elsewhere” but again, with a cash strapped owner, maybe they would have let Tee walk and also not been big spenders in FA if Burrow said nothing
 

Just a weird situation all around. 

[Mr. WEO]

Just now, TBBills Fan said:

I understand that. 

 

But the team that went to the Superbowl was not with just them...saying they made it a few years ago doesn't have any bearing on if they will be able to make it back

 

The caps hits were different, they had money for other players and had a much different defense because of it.  

 

We will see if paying these big contracts to 2 WRs and the QB will lead them back, but it is certainly not a guarantee.  It takes more than 3 guys to make the big dance. 

 

 

they went to the big dance with a mediocre defense.  

 

 

now they can focus on a cheaper rebuild of the Defense through the draft.  I think it's a lot easier to draft their way back into the middle of the pack Defense than Offense.  

 

many posters here want this FA or that and say (correctly) "the cap keeps going higher".  The cap is rising the same amount for the Bengals. If, for example,  the Bills paid for  Chase and Higgins I would be jumping for joy---everyone would.   No one would care that Beane is stuffing the D with aging retreads or 1 year guys or guys with PED issues. 

[syhuang]

11 hours ago, BuffaloBillsGospel2014 said:

 

The Eagles

32/yr for AJ Brown

25/yr for Smith
51/yr for Hurts

20.6/yr for Barkley

 

Keeping the weapons for your QB isn't a dumb move imo as long as you draft properly. 

 

The number you listed are the 'average', not the cap hit. As recent board discussion, what's important is cap hit and guaranteed money while average is misleading.

 

The cap hit for Eagles this past season (2024):

 

AJ Brown: 11.89M

Smith: 8.13M

Hurts: 13.56M

Barkley: 3.80M

 

You may wonder how Eagles can keep their cap hits this low. The answer is not only backload but also void years. Eagles add 4 void years to all their star players contracts including Lane Johnson, Mailata, etc. Eagles are able to significantly bring down the salary cap hit with those void years. However, the disadvantage is that they use lots of cap space in future years and also make releasing or reconstruct these players difficult when they are out of their prime. Using Lane Johnson as example, he is 35 years old now. If Eagles decided to release him after this year if his performance drops noticeably, they will take a 31.2M cap penalty for not playing him. 

 

Aaron Rodgers is another example. His previous contract with Jets also had 4 void years. By releasing him, Jets took 49M cap hit. Even with post Jun 1 designation, the cat hit is 14M this year and 35M next year. Significantly borrow future years' cap room is totally worth it when winning a Super Bowl like Eagles, but it backfires when not. Jets and Rodgers' contract is a good example.

 

BTW, The current cap hit for these players in 2025:

 

AJ Brown: 17.59M

Smith: 7.52M

Hurts: 21.87M

Barkley: 6.66M

 

 

and in 2026:

 

AJ Brown: 23.46M

Smith: 10.73M

Hurts: 31.97M

Barkley: 9.88M

[TBBills Fan]

9 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

they went to the big dance with a mediocre defense.  

 

 

now they can focus on a cheaper rebuild of the Defense through the draft.  I think it's a lot easier to draft their way back into the middle of the pack Defense than Offense.  

 

many posters here want this FA or that and say (correctly) "the cap keeps going higher".  The cap is rising the same amount for the Bengals. If, for example,  the Bills paid for  Chase and Higgins I would be jumping for joy---everyone would.   No one would care that Beane is stuffing the D with aging retreads or 1 year guys or guys with PED issues. 

They had a mediocre defense before paying these three. Hard to fill your team.when three guys are taking over half your cap

 

We will see over the next 3 years of this strategy works, I just don't see it happening. 

 

They had these 3 the last two years and couldn't even make the playoffs....

[TheWeatherMan]

With these massive dual WR contracts the Bengals have likely painted themselves into a corner with Hendricks.  I don’t see them paying him market value on a long term contract or being able to franchise him in the future.  It’s either get something or let him walk in 26/27 and get nothing. 

[FLFan]

14 hours ago, Warcodered said:

Yeah but all their weapons are great and will get wide open, as they cart a shattered Burrow off the field.

It would be very shocking if they signed Hendrickson.  They are done with the big money contracts.

[ColoradoBills]

Every team's management has to work with what they have AND then adjust to their current PLAN going forward.

 

With regards to their offense:

Bengals have some great WRs.  They have decided this year to pay them.  They have a weak OL.  They will have to hope they get through

the year fielding that unit. If Bengals think 1-2 rookies will immediately fix this..............well, we will see.

 

Anyone wanting to see their situation concerning the OL should click the link to Spotrac and see what they have.

Scroll down until you get to the OL to see their multi-year outlook going forward.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/yearly

 

11 players currently (5 - ERFAs).  7th rounder Matt Lee, 32-year-old Ted Karras (last year of contract), JAG Cordel Volson (last year of contract),

Cody Ford, Orland Brown and Amarius Mims (only guy with true potential).

 

This is the Bengals plan.  Burrow got what he wanted.  Let's see how it works out.

 

 

 

[Mr. WEO]

50 minutes ago, TBBills Fan said:

They had a mediocre defense before paying these three. Hard to fill your team.when three guys are taking over half your cap

 

We will see over the next 3 years of this strategy works, I just don't see it happening. 

 

They had these 3 the last two years and couldn't even make the playoffs....

 

It's not like they canned that entire mediocre Defense 2 years ago after back to back AFCC games and a SB....

 

What if they didn't pay both of these guys?  What single Defensive player did they not pay for (instead of re-signing Higgins that would have had a major impact on their playoff hopes?

 

Eagles won a SB in 2022, got bounced in the WC in 2024 and won again in 2024. Their Defesne was 8th , 30th, and 2nd over that span.  How did they go from 30th to 2nd in one year?  Adding Zach Baun??  nah.

Edited 7 hours ago by Mr. WEO

[TBBills Fan]

4 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

It's not like they canned that entire mediocre Defense 2 years ago after back to back AFCC games and a SB....

 

What if they didn't pay both of these guys?  What single Defensive player did they not pay for (instead of re-signing Higgins that would have had a major impact on their playoff hopes?

Hendrickson is an easy answer here. 

 

Insert name here defensive player that we don't know about because they didn't sign them

 

Kind of a weird question I could name every free agent they didn't sign. 

 

The real question is how many free agents could they have signed if they didn't do one of those deals 

 

Like I said, I don't see half the cap going to three guys, with 2 at the same position being good team management 

 

We will see, but this philosophy doesn't seem wise and the few teams that have tried it (Miami) it hasn't resulted in much

[ColoradoBills]

5 minutes ago, TBBills Fan said:

Hendrickson is an easy answer here. 

 

Insert name here defensive player that we don't know about because they didn't sign them

 

Kind of a weird question I could name every free agent they didn't sign. 

 

The real question is how many free agents could they have signed if they didn't do one of those deals 

 

Like I said, I don't see half the cap going to three guys, with 2 at the same position being good team management 

 

We will see, but this philosophy doesn't seem wise and the few teams that have tried it (Miami) it hasn't resulted in much

 

It seems to me you can't even look only on this year's situation.  This has been the Bengals MO for a few years.

Bengals and Bills have very different plans for building their respective teams.

[Mr. WEO]

1 minute ago, TBBills Fan said:

Hendrickson is an easy answer here. 

 

Insert name here defensive player that we don't know about because they didn't sign them

 

Kind of a weird question I could name every free agent they didn't sign. 

 

The real question is how many free agents could they have signed if they didn't do one of those deals 

 

Like I said, I don't see half the cap going to three guys, with 2 at the same position being good team management 

 

We will see, but this philosophy doesn't seem wise and the few teams that have tried it (Miami) it hasn't resulted in much

 

well, Hendrickson is already on the roster and they are about to extend him, per reports.  So...who else?  Who on Defense did they not sign that would have the same overall impact that Higgins or Chase would have?

[TBBills Fan]

13 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

well, Hendrickson is already on the roster and they are about to extend him, per reports.  So...who else?  Who on Defense did they not sign that would have the same overall impact that Higgins or Chase would have?

Straw man, hard to say who they didn't sign because they re-signed these guys. I don't work for the Bengals.  

 

Would you like me to list every FA?

[Process]

2 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

It wasn't in their SB season.

 

So they should let Chase or Higgins play elsewhere so they can pick up...who?  Bosa?  Miller? Jordan Philips? A PED guy? 

Did you not watch the playoffs the year they made the Superbowl? The Defense carried them there. 

[RyanC883]

15 hours ago, BillMafia716ix said:

How much longer do you expect us to get by without having elite talent? If I remember correctly I think it was Cincy that knocked us out the playoffs just a few years ago. Joe has been to the SB. Our guy hasn’t. 

 

yeah, people can knock Cincy all they want, Joe has 1 SB appearance, we haven't beaten him or KC in the playoffs.  Most (I think all) recent SB winners have had at least 1 elite WR option.