For the Cincinnati Bengals, it’s all about star safety Jessie Bates right now ahead of free agency opening.
Bates appeared on NFL Network on Wednesday and dropped some notable quotes about his situation with the Bengals. He stressed he wants to stay with the Bengals, but also didn’t sound like a guy who wants to play on the franchise tag:
“We will see. Hopefully I am not under a franchise tag. You just gotta play your cards right. Hopefully I will still be a part of that in Cincinnati. There is a lot of good things to come, whether I am there or not.”
The night before his interview appearances, a few tweets from Bates send the Bengals fanbase into a tizzy.
Bates and the Bengals couldn’t agree to an extension before the season, so he’s slated to be a free agent in a few weeks unless the team uses a franchise tag. The window for teams to do so just opened this week.
While Bates said he doesn’t necessarily want to be the NFL’s highest-paid safety, it was clear from the interview that the two parties are still jockeying for leverage ahead of free agency.
