Jessie Bates hasn't attended any of the Bengals' offseason workouts after the team placed the franchise tag on him in March.
The 25-year-old is set to make $12.91 million this season. He's hoping to agree to a long-term deal before the July 15 deadline.
Former NFL agent and CBS Sports salary cap expert Joel Corry weighed in on Bates' contract negotiations with the Bengals on Wednesday.
"Bates reportedly has no intention of playing under his $12.911 million franchise tag. Sitting out the season if a long-term deal isn't reached by July 15 would be surprising," Corry wrote. "It is a rarity for franchise players to miss a season. Last time it happened before Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell in 2018 was with Chiefs defensive lineman Dan Williams in 1998. The Bengals probably don't want to pay Bates any more than the $14 million per year Marcus Williams, who was designated as a franchise player by the Saints in 2021, received from the Ravens on a five-year deal in free agency this year. Bates likely has his sights set on the top of the safety market. The Broncos made Justin Simmons, who was on his second straight franchise tag, the league's highest-paid safety at $15.25 million per year in March 2021. That was before Jamal Adams reset the safety market with a four-year, $70 million extension, averaging $17.5 million per year and worth up to $72 million through incentives and salary escalators, from the Seahawks last August."
The safety market has come down following Adams' extension in Seattle. Would Bates be willing to take a deal similar to the one Williams received from Baltimore? If so, the Bengals would probably sign him to a long-term contract.
If he's looking for the same contract Adams received, then the Bengals will probably pass on an extension prior to the July 15 deadline.
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