For the most part, the Cincinnati Bengals have made some stellar moves during the 2022 NFL offseason. They have revamped their offensive line and defense after making an unexpected run to the Super Bowl in 2021 before falling short. After announcing themselves as a top team in the AFC last season, the Bengals look likely to contend again in 2022.
The one glaring misstep for the Bengals this offseason was their failure to sign star safety Jessie Bates to a new long-term deal. Bates played a huge role in helping the Bengals make it to the Super Bowl last season, and the Bengals placed the franchise tag on him early in the offseason to ensure that they would have a shot to sign Bates to a long-term extension. But that failed to materialize, and now Bates may hold out of training camp as a result of not getting a new deal.
According to Bengals owner Mike Brown, that's just how things go sometimes. Brown said it's tough to fit multiple big contracts under the salary cap, implying that Jessie Bates was the one who ended up getting squeezed out. That probably isn't going to sit well with Bates as he contemplates whether or not he should hold out or not.
Mike Brown: "this is a puzzle. It doesn't all fit in perfectly."
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) July 25, 2022
Brown is right to say that Bengals have a lot on their hands with Bates' extension, plus those coming up for guys like Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. Fitting them onto the cap is going to be tough.
But to come out and say that those future negotiations impacted the talks for Jessie Bates' extension doesn't seem like a great idea. Brown is basically admitting that Bates' deal got placed on the backburner for the time being. As a result, it wouldn't be surprising to see Bates hold out during training camp as a result of him not getting an extension this offseason.
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