NFL Trade Rumors
Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase is set to enter the final year of his rookie contract under the fifth-year option, creating a pressing need to get an extension done this offseason. According to Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports, Chase will command at least a $40 million annual contract to become the highest-paid receiver in league history.
Back at the Pro Bowl earlier this month, Chase said in an interview with ESPN that he wants to be paid fairly this offseason.
“I hope I get what’s fair at the end of the day – what my worth is at the end of the day,” Chase said. “Hopefully I don’t put too much pressure on anybody, I just want it to be fair.”
Asked to define what “fair” looks like, Chase demurred.
“Fair is what I deserve,” Chase laughed and said. “I can’t really say everything I want to say. It’s what I deserve, it’s what I’ve worked for, how hard I worked for. It’s a written story already. It should be fair change.”
Chase could reset the market at wide receiver and become the position’s highest-apid player of all time after Vikings WR Justin Jefferson and Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb signed deals last summer worth $35 million a year and $34 million a year respectively. Both deals were worth over $100 million in guarantees.
Cincinnati tried to work out a deal with Chase last summer but couldn’t agree on a cash flow that satisfied the star receiver. Bengals de facto GM Duke Tobin is optimistic they’ll get a deal done this year.
“It’s a priority for us,” Tobin said, via Kelsey Conway of The Enquirer. “It’s something we feel like there’s a framework to work off of. Should be a pretty easy framework to work off of. Guys in his position have recently re-done contracts. We believe in Ja’Marr, he’s very important to us. The other guys that have done contracts are very important to their teams. So, we believe there’s a real framework to work off of. I would expect that we could come together on something that makes sense for both sides.”
The Bengals have several other contracts to address, including WR Tee Higgins, TE Mike Gesicki, and DE Trey Hendrickson. Last week, Joe Burrow said there are several ways they could lower his $46.25 million cap hit to help bring key players back.
“You could convert some of the money into a signing bonus, which will lower the cap hit. You can push some of the money to the back end of the contract. That lowers the cap hit,” Burrow said, via Ben Baby. “And then when you get to the back end of the contract, you can restructure it and turn it into a signing bonus.”
Chase, 24, was a two-year starter at LSU and a unanimous All-American during his sophomore season. He opted out of the 2020 college football season due to the pandemic. The Bengals took Chase with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2021...
