The perception of what will happen with the Cincinnati Bengals and star wideouts Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins has taken a dramatic shift in recent weeks.
It’s not just fans or even players who are interviewed, either.
Take, for example, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. Asked about whether the Bengals can sign both Chase and Higgins, the expert admitted that he’s sensing a shift:
Kent, a month ago, I’d have said this was hard but easy. You don’t want to let either guy go, but there are financial realities that come with running a football team, and the choice between Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins is academic (good as Higgins is, Chase is different).
Now? After how Joe Burrow and his top two receivers have played over the past month, I’m moving to the do-whatever-it-takes-to-keep-both camp. The three are playing too well together not to at least take a swing at what could cost, between the three of them, around $120 million per year. Next year would be a number a little less than 45% of projections for next year’s cap (obviously, those numbers can be massaged).
Breer goes on to compare the situation to when the Indianapolis Colts paid up huge for Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne all at once, although this would be even more expensive for the Bengals.
But it’s not hard to see why the conversation has shifted on this topic. Joe Burrow just sent another message to the front office about it while also potentially slipping up and revealing that it’s in the works.
That, after Higgins left his agent and joined the same reps as Chase.
It all still has to come together in the offseason, in one way or another, but the idea of keeping all three together just keeps gaining steam.
