The Bengals re-signed Mike Gesicki and signed Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to long-term deals. That leaves Trey Hendrickson, who is entering the final year of his contract
Will the Bengals get an extension completed with the edge rusher?
Bengals coach Zac Taylor didn’t allow much Monday about where talks stand.
“Just continue to work through,” Taylor said from the NFL’s annual meetings in Palm Beach, Florida. “Trey’s been a big part of our team. We want to work through it with him and his agent, and we’ll just see where it goes.”
Hendrickson’s name isn’t always mentioned in the same breath as Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons and T.J. Watt, but Hendrickson has been as good as any pass rusher in the NFL at least the past two seasons. He has four consecutive Pro Bowls since joining the Bengals and has 17.5 sacks in each of the past two seasons.
“Very consistent. Not just two years. Four years for us,” Taylor said. “I think he’s one of the premier pass rushers in this league. Teams have to devote a lot of attention to him as they start their game plan each week. He’s been a guy who works his tail off day in and day out, 365 days a year, which I can respect and appreciate. Again, we’ll just continue to work through the process with Trey.”
When I tuned into the UFL regular-season opener between the St. Louis Battlehawks and the Houston Roughnecks, I expected to see A.J. McCarron playing quarterback for the Battlehawks.
As it turns out, McCarron doesn’t work in the UFL anymore.
He was cut in November 2024. He wasn’t happy about the decision, or the way it was communicated.
“My phone must not work anymore to let me know when this was actually going down,” McCarron said on social media.
Manny Wilkins is the new St. Louis quarterback. McCarron is not employed by any of the UFL’s teams, after starting for the last two seasons in St. Louis.
McCarron, 34, has seven seasons of NFL experience. His most extensive playing time came as a rookie in 2015, with the Bengals.
Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie has found a new team.
The Ravens announced they’ve agreed to terms with Awuzie on a one-year contract.
Awuzie, 29, spent last season with the Titans. The former second-round pick appeared in eight games with seven starts, recording 26 total tackles with four passes defensed, an interception, and a forced fumble.
The Titans released Awuzie earlier this month.
Awuzie spent his first four seasons with the Cowboys then played three years for the Bengals. He’s recorded 66 passes defensed with seven interceptions in 94 career games.
They were teammates at LSU. They’re now the two highest-paid receivers in the NFL.
So how do the contracts signed by Justin Jefferson of the Vikings and Ja’Marr Chase of the Bengals compare?
As it relates to new-money annual average (an often flawed way to value contracts), Jefferson is at $35 million per year and Chase is at $40.25 million. (Given the bloated final year of the deal, Chase’s real new-money APY is more like $38.728 million.)
Here are some other apples-to-apples comparisons of the two contracts.
Regarding full guarantees at signing, Jefferson has $88.743 million through Year 1, $95.743 million through Year 2, and $110 million through Year 3. Chase has $73.9 million through Year 1, $103.9 million through Year 2, and $112 million through Year 3.
Remove the per-game roster bonuses from the calculations, and Jefferson’s numbers are $87.723 million, $94.723 million, and $108.98 million. For Chase, they’re $72.9 million, $101.9 million, and $109 million.
The injury guarantee at signing is $110 million for Jefferson and $109.8 million for Chase.
On cash flow, the numbers favor Chase. Through Year 1, Jefferson is at $38.063 million and Chase is at $41.16 million. Through Year 2, Jefferson is at $69.993 million and Chase is at $75 million. Through Year 3, Jefferson is at $95.743 million and Chase is at $105 million. Through Year 4, Jefferson is at $125.743 million and Chase is at $138 million. Through Year 5, Jefferson is at $159.743 million and Chase is at $182.816 million. (Again, Chase’s final year is bloated.)
Removal of the per-game active roster bonuses makes things considerably tighter, since Chase has $5 million tied to being able to suit up and play. Jefferson’s number is roughly $2 million.
Both deals are very strong. While Chase’s deal is better on all metrics, it’s not dramatically better. And the cap doesn’t reflect the low-hanging, oft-misleading new-money APY gap.
The Bengals signed free agent offensive guard Lucas Patrick to a one-year contract, the team announced Friday.
Patrick recently visited Cincinnati.
A year ago, Patrick signed a one-year deal with the Saints and started 10 games for the team before landing on injured reserve. He has appeared in 107 career regular-season games with 64 starts for the Packers (2017-21), Bears (2022-23) and Saints (2024).
Patrick has seen action in five postseason games with three starts for Green Bay.
The Bengals released Alex Cappa and re-signed Cody Ford earlier in the offseason. They also have Cordell Volson on hand at guard while Ted Karras remains in place at center.
