Bengals All-Pro safety Bates motivated by lack of extension

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Bengals All-Pro safety Jessie Bates motivated by lack of extension

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Sep 13, 2021 5:11 PM ET

Cincinnati Bengals All-Pro safety Jessie Bates said in June he wanted to remain with the organization past the expiration of his rookie contract at the end of the current season but has not yet put pen to paper on an extension.

According to Ben Baby of ESPN, Bates intends to vent his frustrations on football fields and against opposing ball-carriers.

"I think I'm going to continue to show it with my play and be a little pissed off, for sure," Bates said about the situation Monday.

Bates, 24, led the Bengals with nine tackles in Cincinnati's season-opening overtime win over the Minnesota Vikings, and he helped force a fumble in the extra period that led to the victory:

Jessie Bates makes first contact, but Germaine Pratt with the play of the game on defense to force the fumble on Dalvin Cook. He recovered it too! pic.twitter.com/vLBuxYgVjC
— Mike (Sans) (@bengals_sans) September 13, 2021

Per Baby, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Aug. 10 Bates and the Bengals weren't close to agreeing to terms of an extension. The Bengals could retain his services for at least the 2022 season via the franchise tag, which would make Bates one of the league's highest-paid safeties for one year but not guarantee him any cash beyond the campaign.

Baby added Bates hinted but declined to directly comment that he wants to be the NFL's highest-paid player at the position.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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