The latest update on the situation between the Cincinnati Bengals and star safety Jessie Bates simply suggested nothing would get done before the July 15 deadline.
Bates and the team have until then to agree on a long-term extension or he’ll play what could be his final season with the team on the franchise tag before heading to free agency next offseason.
Even a trip to UFC 276 with Joe Burrow didn’t seem to move the needle too much. That, after the franchise quarterback publicly lobbied for Bates to stay long-term.
But things took an interesting twist on Monday night when Bates sent out an all-caps tweet:
STAY DOWN. STAY GROUNDED. ⚓️ #JustBelieve
— Jessie Bates III (@jlbiii3) July 12, 2022
Normally? Not too big of a deal. But Bates hadn’t shot a tweet since early May. Before that, early April. He had two tweets in March and only a handful in February, one of which was a retweet of cornerback Mike Hilton telling the team to extend him.
So sure, this could be nothing. But it comes at quite the interesting time and the message is just vague enough to have fans buzzing. Bates watch is officially on before the July 15 deadline.
