Bengals owner: 'Challenge' to keep offensive core together

Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown observes practice at the Paul Brown Stadium practice fields in Cincinnati. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Bengals owner Mike Brown: It'll be 'real challenge' to keep young offensive core together

By Adam Stites | Last updated 7/26/22

The Cincinnati Bengals want to keep quarterback Joe Burrow with his young trio of wide receivers: Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd. But working out contracts for all of those players won't be easy.

"As you can guess, it has occurred to us that this is coming," Bengals owner Mike Brown said Tuesday, via WLWT. "That's part of the reason we're doing the things that you see us doing. We're trying to prepare to find a way to keep Joe here, and keep Chase here, and keep Higgins here, and keep Boyd here, for example. It's gonna be a real challenge for us.

"I sort of like how [Patrick] Mahomes said he doesn't care what those guys are getting, he's set for life with what he's got. That's a good way to look at it, I'm thinking."

Mike Brown on Burrow contract: We're trying to prepare to find a way to keep Joe here, keep Chase here, keep Higgins here and keep Boyd here for example, it's gonna be a real challenge for us" @WLWT #Bengals #RuleTheJungle pic.twitter.com/XmobYTQE0O
— Mark Slaughter (@MarkVSlaughter) July 25, 2022

Burrow, 25, will be the costliest to keep by a wide margin after leading the team to the Super Bowl last season. He's entering the third year of his rookie deal and isn't eligible to sign a long-term extension until after the 2022 season.

Earlier this year, quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, Kyler Murray, and Deshaun Watson all received contracts worth at least $46 million per season.

The wide receiver market also ballooned this offseason with Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill each signing deals worth at least $28 million per year.

Cincinnati has shied away from dishing out big money in 2022. Safety Jessie Bates was franchise-tagged and didn't receive a long-term extension from the team during the summer. On Tuesday, Bates didn't report for the start of the Bengals' training camp.

More must-reads: