Cincinnati Bengals safety Jessie Bates was slated to become one of the top free agents on the market next week.
"Was" is the operative word here. Cincinnati has opted to place the dreaded franchise tag on Bates ahead of the deadline on Tuesday. Said tag will pay Bates $13.54 million for the 2022 season should he sign it.
A second-round pick out of Wake Forest back in 2018, Bates has morphed into one of the best free safeties in the NFL. He was one of the primary reasons Cincinnati earned a surprise trip to the Super Bowl back in February.
In 2020, Bates yielded a mere 54.3% completion rate and 70.7 QB rating when targeted. While he did regress this past season (122.0 QB rating), the Wake Forest product has proven that he has some solid rage in the defensive secondary.
“Hopefully I’m not under a franchise tag. That’s something that needs to be discussed (with the) NFLPA a little bit. Some of the top guys got hurt under a franchise tag. It’s tough; you only get one shot at this. You just got to play your cards right, I guess you could say.”
Jessie Bates to NFL Network (February 23, 2022)
This is an opinion that has been shared by many impending free agents over the years. While being given the franchise tag guarantees a huge pay day for one season, it prevents stars from cashing in on long-term contracts.
As for Bates, the franchise tag will make him one of the five highest-paid safeties in the NFL for the 2022 season. However, it’s a much smaller contract than what other top-end safeties around the NFL are playing under right now.
Jamal Adams of the Seattle Seahawks ($17.5 million) and Harrison Smith of the Minnesota Vikings ($16.0 million) are the two highest-paid players at this position in terms of average annual salary.
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