Don’t expect to hear much about the Cincinnati Bengals extending star safety Jessie Bates in the coming weeks.
Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn said things have pretty much stalled between the team and Bates since the franchise tag went final.
Blackburn said the following, according to The Athletic’s Jay Morrison:
“There hasn’t been a lot to report on since we put the tag on him. We obviously tried to get him re-signed last year. Thought we had a good chance of getting that done but it didn’t quite get there. I think they wanted to see where the market went in free agency. At some point, we’ll circle back with him and see where we are. But obviously, we love Jessie as a player. And if there’s a way we could get something worked out, that would be great.”
We know the Bengals haven’t stopped trying to get Bates back for the long-term and the fact the two sides couldn’t agree to something before the franchise tag confirms the desire to see how the open market treated safeties.
Interestingly, besides Marcus Williams getting five years and $70 million in New Orleans, the safety market hasn’t been all that wild — and notables like Tyrann Mathieu and Landon Collins still don’t have homes.
The Bengals and Bates have until the middle of the summer to agree on an extension or he’ll play 2022 on the tag and from the sounds of it, the team will at least test the waters again in the coming months.
