The Bengals have yet to write any literal new checks to receiver Ja’Marr Chase. The figurative check written at the Scouting Combine keeps getting more expensive.
“He is going to end up being the No. 1 paid non-quarterback in the league,” director of player personnel Duke Tobin said regarding Chase.
When Tobin said it, the non-quarterback floor came from Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson, who’s making $35 million per year in new money. This week, Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby bumped that to $35.5 million. Now, the new deal given by the Browns to defensive end Myles Garrett could kick the number to at least $40 million per year.
The real Garrett numbers will be revealed in time. Regardless, Chase’s bottom line keeps growing.
And that’s only going to make it more expensive for the Bengals to sign Chase.
They could have done it last year. The numbers were right, but the structure was not. The end result will be much more cash than it would have been in 2024.
That said, the Bengals got another year from Chase at less than $5 million. And it was a special season — he led the league in catches, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. It won’t make Chase any less determined to get what he deserves.
Unless it happens, the eventual price will only keep going up. Next up for new deals are Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt and Cowboys do-it-all defender Micah Parsons.
Given that the Bengals have made Chase wait this long, Chase should wait to see how high others will push his floor. In the end, Jefferson’s $35 million could end up being $45 million.
As we recently surmised, the Maxx Crosby contract sparked the Bengals’ decision to let defensive end Trey Hendrickson seek a trade. The question is whether it will lead to a new team, or whether there will be a Matthew Stafford-style renewal of vows.
The Bengals, we’re told, have made an offer on a long-term deal to Hendrickson. They think it’s good enough. He doesn’t. And so they’re letting him find out what else is out there.
The problem is that the offers from other teams will necessarily be reduced by the fact that the new team will both have to pay Hendrickson and to satisfy the Bengals with trade compensation.
Crosby re-set the market at $35.5 million per year in new money. Hendrickson is due to make $16 million in 2025, after back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons.
He wants something far closer to Crosby’s deal. Our semi-informed guess is that the Bengals are in the range of $28 million per year.
Crosby is 27. Hendrickson is 30. Will a new team offer Hendrickson significantly more than the Bengals are offering? And will that prompt the Bengals to sweeten the pot (like the Rams did for Stafford) or will they trade him?
Hendrickson has said he wants to stay with the Bengals. And maybe he will. It all comes down to what he learns, now that he’s able to officially gauge the market for his services.
Rather than test free agency, Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki agreed to a three-year contract on Saturday to remain in Cincinnati. He says that’s because he wants to bring a Lombardi Trophy to town.
“Everybody’s goal in Cincinnati is to compete for a championship, and that’s another reason I wanted to come back,” Gesicki told Bengals.com.
Gesicki has signed one-year contracts three seasons in a row with the Dolphins in 2022, Patriots in 2023 and Bengals in 2024, but he said the three-year contract he’s signing now gives him stability with the Bengals and two people he very much wants to keep working with, coach Zac Taylor and quarterback Joe Burrow.
“It’s been, ‘Prove it, prove it, prove it.’ I just wanted to get in the right situation with a coach that believes in me and a quarterback that believes in me and I found that in Cincinnati,” Gesicki said. “With Zac and Joe, why go anywhere else?”
The Bengals still have work to do in keeping their offense intact, with receivers Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase both due for long-term contract extensions. Keeping their offensive talent together is the first step toward bringing a championship to Cincinnati.
Tight end Mike Gesicki will not hit the open market.
According to multiple reports, Gesicki has agreed to a three-year deal to stay with the Bengals.
The initial reports indicate the contract is worth $25.5 million.
Gesicki is No. 81 on PFT’s list of the top 100 free agents in 2025.
Gesicki, 29, signed a one-year deal with Cincinnati last offseason. He ended up being a key piece of the team’s offense, catching 65 passes for 665 yards with two touchdowns.
Appearing in all 17 games, Gesicki was on the field for 46 percent of the team’s offensive snaps.
A Dolphins second-round pick in 2018, Gesicki has played 115 games with 44 starts for Miami, New England, and Cincinnati. He has only missed one regular-season game in his career, which occurred in 2020.
He has 325 career receptions for 3,526 yards with 22 TDs.
The Bengals granted defensive end Trey Hendrickson permission to seek a trade after the sides couldn’t work out a long-term deal. That doesn’t mean Hendrickson wants to leave.
He would rather stay in Cincinnati, all things being equal.
Hendrickson wore a Bengals jersey during an appearance at a non-profit event Friday night.
“I’ve been able to achieve All-Pro honors, Pro Bowl honors. It’s been a heck of a ride and to play with some of the most talented players in the league like Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Sam Hubbard, Logan Wilson, BJ Hill, I could list every player, Ted Karras is on that list too,” Hendrickson told Olivia Ray of WLWT. “I’m just tremendously blessed, the relationships I’ve made. However it shakes out, there’s nowhere I’d rather be.”
Hendrickson is scheduled to make $15.8 million in base salary in 2025 with no money guaranteed. A trade would save Cincinnati $16 million against the cap.
He’s due a raise after totaling 17.5 sacks in each fo the past two seasons.
“Trey is super passionate,” director of player personnel Duke Tobin said at the Scouting Combine last month. “It’s exactly what makes him a great football player. He is super engaged, and we’re cognizant. He’s been a great signing for us. We’ve been a great fit for him. He’s been a great fit for us. We would like to extend that. We would like to keep him not only happy but with us on a longer-term basis. He’s under contract right now, and we’re going to talk as the offseason goes. Hopefully, we’ll come to an agreement that everyone’s acceptable of. But are we there yet? We’re not there yet.”
The Bengals have used the franchise tag on Tee Higgins with hopes of signing him to a long-term deal, and Ja’Marr Chase needs an extension this offseason. Tobin said they could make all three big contracts work, but it appears Hendrickson could be the odd-man out.
